la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 21, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 5.9 Soil moisture supplies: 22% very short, 32% short, 41% adequate and 5% surplus Field Crops Report Scattered showers over the weekend helped ease dry conditions in some areas of the state. More rain was needed to replenish soil moisture and improve crop conditions. Corn harvesting progressed to 38 percent, still behind the 5 year average of 58 percent. Harvesting of rice was also behind the 5 year average, but producers were reporting exceptional yields. Soybean producers were checking fields for diseases and insects. Some producers began harvesting early variety soybeans. Sugarcane producers were busy planting and beginning to apply ripeners to some fields in prepartion for harvest. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Citrus producers were scouting trees for insects. Vegetable producers were planting and working fall crops. Strawberry producers were applying lime and fertilizer to fields. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Hay cutting continued with reports of armyworms in some fields. Cattlemen were fertilizing pastures and marketing calves. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Corn Mature 98 97 100 100 Harvested 38 11 64 58 Cotton Setting Bolls 100 99 100 100 Open Bolls 19 6 29 38 Hay Second Cutting 80 73 82 85 Rice Headed 99 95 97 98 Ripe 81 53 82 84 Harvested 55 29 64 66 Sorghum Headed 100 99 100 100 Turning Color 95 87 98 96 Ripe 74 53 88 82 Harvested 34 12 55 43 Soybeans Blooming 100 99 100 99 Setting Pods 97 93 99 95 Turning Color 52 46 45 37 Dropping Leaves 30 23 32 19 Harvested 6 0 10 2 Sugarcane Planted 22 13 30 24 Sweetpotatoes Harvested 1 0 1 6 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 2 15 35 42 6 Cotton 3 18 32 41 6 Rice 0 0 34 48 18 Sorghum 1 11 40 40 8 Soybeans 3 14 33 41 9 Sugarcane 4 12 30 39 15 Livestock 1 7 43 45 4 Vegetables 16 19 42 21 2 Pasture 8 22 44 24 2 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 08/15/05 TO 08/21/05 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 CityMMM MM MM 82 0.22 2.95 24.57 33.77 Minden 100 70 85 81 0.42 1.23 23.15 36.19 Mooringsport (101) 72 86 MM 0.74 2.94 20.55 29.83 Extreme/Average 101 70 86 82 0.58 2.09 20.55 34.43 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 99 (67) 85 82 0.33 0.82 29.04 36.84 Homer/Hill Farm 97 69 83 81 0.00 3.28 30.18 36.25 ULM-Monroe 101 68 86 82 0.90 1.96 25.63 38.37 Winnfield 99 68 84 81 0.68 1.18 29.48 39.24 Extreme/Average 101 67 85 82 0.64 1.32 28.05 37.46 3. Northeast Lake Providence 101 72 87 81 0.01 0.38 27.17 39.63 LSU-St Joseph 100 69 86 82 1.31 2.28 27.65 38.26 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 101 68 86 82 1.21 1.70 31.02 37.83 Tallulah 99 70 86 81 0.27 0.33 32.63 39.47 Extreme/Average 101 68 86 82 0.70 1.17 29.62 38.74 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 100 67 84 81 0.87 2.56 29.42 37.19 LSU-Rosepine 98 69 84 81 1.34 3.64 28.94 38.05 MM MM MM Natchitoches 99 68 84 83 0.30 0.70 22.21 36.06 Extreme/Average 100 67 84 82 0.84 2.30 22.21 36.65 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 97 71 84 83 0.28 0.44 23.02 39.07 Brusly 97 70 84 81 0.66 3.79 30.04 42.63 Bunkie 97 70 84 82 2.09 2.52 35.42 40.28 LSU-Alexandria MM MM MM 81 0.26 1.96 25.70 37.50 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 97 70 83 82 0.82 2.18 28.55 39.49 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 99 72 86 81 0.28 1.81 33.27 44.00 LSU-Baton Rouge 98 70 85 81 0.08 1.35 26.35 41.53 LSU-Clinton 97 69 83 81 0.71 1.72 30.66 42.45 LSU-Hammond 99 71 84 82 0.14 3.73 34.04 43.72 MM MM MM Slidell 94 72 84 82 0.89 11.30 56.46 42.75 Extreme/Average 99 69 85 82 0.42 3.98 36.16 43.77 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 97 70 83 82 1.67 2.41 30.04 39.29 Jennings 95 71 83 82 0.24 2.56 30.12 38.41 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 96 72 84 82 0.25 2.58 32.77 39.44 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 97 70 83 82 0.72 2.52 31.45 39.46 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 96 70 83 82 1.47 5.90 33.21 41.13 LSU-Jeanerette 95 72 83 81 1.30 4.18 32.51 41.34 Morgan City 95 73 84 81 0.56 5.37 32.84 42.92 Extreme/Average 96 70 84 82 1.11 5.15 32.85 41.89 9. Southeast Galliano 95 74 84 82 0.92 6.99 54.86 44.51 Houma 96 72 85 82 1.90 5.02 48.33 43.18 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park 98 76 86 83 0.60 8.15 51.94 43.03 Reserve 97 74 85 82 0.40 2.76 39.04 44.45 Extreme/Average 98 72 85 83 0.96 5.73 48.54 43.14 MM MM MM State State Averages 101 67 84 82 0.75 2.89 31.52 39.60 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through August 21, 2005