la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 15, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.8 Soil moisture supplies: 41% very short, 45% short and 14% adequate Field Crops Report Louisiana producers continued to struggle with the dry conditions. Light showers were received across the state, but they did not improve field conditions. Crops were in need of rain and were beginning to show signs of drought stress. Producers continued planting crops at a slow rate, hoping for some rain to improve soil moisture. Rice producers were running wells non-stop to flood fields and applying herbicides and fertilizers. Sugarcane continued doing well, but rain would improve growth. Harvesting of wheat began. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Harvesting of strawberries was completed. Some citrus fruit was beginning to show scab disease, and trees were dropping fruit. Vegetable producers were spraying tomato and bell peppers to control insects and diseases. Some vegetable producers began irrigating crops. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattle and hay producers were taking advantage of the dry conditions to harvest hay. Rain was needed to improve pasture growth and conditions. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Cotton Planted 92 74 84 83 Emerged 72 47 71 69 Hay First Cutting 30 16 17 38 Rice Planted 96 92 95 96 Emerged 89 80 91 91 Sorghum Planted 86 78 84 79 Emerged 70 65 75 67 Soybeans Planted 59 47 59 55 Emerged 47 35 49 43 Sweet potatoes Planted 5 4 9 13 Wheat Headed 100 99 100 100 Turning Color 81 50 81 86 Harvested 4 0 3 13 Land Preparation Spring Plowing 99 97 95 97 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 3 12 40 45 0 Cotton 2 10 42 41 5 Rice 0 4 52 38 6 Sorghum 0 7 51 42 0 Sugarcane 1 7 52 33 7 Wheat 0 6 42 50 2 Livestock 2 8 48 36 6 Vegetables 2 23 45 23 7 Pasture 7 20 50 23 0 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 05/09/05 TO 05/15/05 AIR PRECIPITATION 4 INCH SOIL TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO TEMPERATURE MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM MAX MIN AVE 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 88 58 73 72 0.00 0.41 15.64 20.56 Minden 89 60 74 70 0.38 0.93 16.51 22.73 Mooringsport 88 58 73 MM 0.10 0.37 13.69 18.19 Extreme/Average 89 58 73 71 0.16 0.57 15.28 21.01 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 89 (51) 73 71 0.64 2.27 17.45 23.66 Homer/Hill Farm 86 58 72 70 0.34 1.06 19.19 22.80 ULM-Monroe 91 58 74 72 0.18 2.16 16.76 25.22 Winnfield 89 60 74 71 0.19 1.01 16.71 24.31 Extreme/Average 91 51 73 71 0.34 1.63 17.53 23.89 3. Northeast Lake Providence 90 63 76 71 0.26 2.52 18.61 26.43 LSU-St Joseph (94) 55 76 73 0.71 2.00 17.78 25.73 LSU-Winnsboro 92 61 76 72 0.16 2.01 19.05 24.98 Tallulah 90 62 76 71 0.48 3.21 20.01 25.80 Extreme/Average 94 55 76 72 0.40 2.41 18.95 25.65 4. West-Central Leesville 89 58 75 72 1.17 1.34 14.65 22.70 LSU-Rosepine 89 61 75 72 2.00 2.06 18.19 22.41 MM MM MM Natchitoches 90 61 76 72 0.20 0.78 15.78 22.71 Extreme/Average 90 58 75 72 1.12 1.70 16.21 22.56 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 89 64 76 73 0.09 0.21 16.72 24.21 Brusly 90 59 75 73 0.25 1.87 14.90 24.86 Bunkie 90 51 70 73 0.29 1.49 18.60 25.68 LSU-Alexandria 91 59 75 73 0.06 0.45 16.37 23.23 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 91 51 74 73 0.17 1.01 16.65 24.42 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 90 56 74 73 0.07 3.36 21.31 26.48 LSU-Baton Rouge 92 59 75 74 0.06 1.43 13.17 23.64 LSU-Clinton 87 60 73 72 0.20 1.07 18.64 26.08 LSU-Hammond 89 59 74 73 0.51 1.63 15.92 25.68 MM MM MM Slidell 87 60 73 74 0.28 3.43 25.05 25.00 Extreme/Average 92 56 74 73 0.22 1.89 18.20 26.00 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 88 61 76 73 1.47 1.47 16.61 22.79 Jennings 88 63 75 74 0.36 1.01 16.84 20.97 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 88 60 76 74 0.30 2.78 16.78 21.88 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 88 60 75 74 0.71 1.75 16.81 21.23 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 90 63 75 74 0.21 1.69 14.27 22.96 LSU-Jeanerette 89 63 74 74 0.34 1.45 16.03 20.90 Morgan City 87 61 75 74 0.38 1.86 17.83 21.62 Extreme/Average 90 61 75 75 0.31 1.67 16.04 21.88 9. Southeast Galliano 87 64 75 74 0.02 0.84 23.83 23.11 Houma 89 65 77 75 0.38 0.98 26.19 21.93 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park 89 64 77 76 0.16 2.54 24.96 22.84 Reserve 88 62 74 74 0.19 3.80 23.72 24.99 Extreme/Average 89 62 76 75 0.19 2.04 24.68 23.34 MM MM MM State State Averages 94 51 75 73 0.39 1.62 18.15 23.46 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through May 15, 2005