la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date September 18, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.9 Soil moisture supplies: 59% very short, 33% short and 8% adequate Field Crops Report Most of the state has not received a significant amount of rain for several weeks. As of last week, we were about 12 inches below the state average. Producers were still burdened with the dry weather and crop conditions continued to decline. Corn harvesting was completed. Harvesting of sorghum edged closer to completion. Soybean producers were harvesting and treating fields for stinkbugs in several areas of the state. Sugarcane planting continued to be difficult due to dry conditions. Sugarcane producers were preparing for harvest season. Some wheat producers were preparing land for planting. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Citrus producers were scouting trees as fruit dropping was heavy due to dry conditions. Vegetable producers were planting and working fall crops. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattlemen were wrapping up second cutting of hay. Pasture conditions continued to decline as growth was slow because of the dry weather. Cattlemen were cleaning out fence rows and making repairs. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Corn Harvested 100 98 100 98 Cotton Open Bolls 97 90 78 87 Harvested 20 15 5 16 Hay Second Cutting 99 98 97 96 Rice Ripe 99 98 100 100 Harvested 88 84 96 91 Sorghum Harvested 99 85 99 91 Soybeans Turning Color 93 79 77 80 Dropping Leaves 77 63 65 63 Harvested 62 43 46 34 Sugarcane Planted 87 66 95 88 Sweet potatoes Harvested 26 15 14 27 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Cotton 6 17 37 35 5 Soybeans 7 14 41 35 3 Sugarcane 15 17 35 27 6 Sweet potatoes 5 8 36 51 0 Livestock 9 14 44 31 2 Vegetables 25 24 43 8 0 Pasture 27 40 26 6 1 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 09/12/05 TO 09/18/05 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 99 64 84 76 0.08 0.47 25.04 36.38 Minden 97 66 82 76 0.60 1.79 25.29 39.29 Mooringsport 99 68 82 MM 0.90 3.01 23.56 32.74 Extreme/Average 99 64 83 76 0.53 1.76 24.30 37.28 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 97 61 82 77 0.04 1.56 30.60 39.77 Homer/Hill Farm 97 66 82 75 0.42 1.82 32.00 39.55 ULM-Monroe 100 62 83 77 0.01 0.13 26.67 41.28 Winnfield 98 64 83 76 0.09 4.21 33.69 42.52 Extreme/Average 100 61 83 76 0.14 1.93 30.74 40.58 3. Northeast Lake Providence 95 66 81 76 0.10 3.35 30.52 42.18 LSU-St Joseph 98 59 82 77 0.16 1.61 29.26 41.11 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 99 61 83 77 0.21 1.20 32.22 40.41 Tallulah 95 61 80 76 0.02 1.27 33.90 42.28 Extreme/Average 99 59 81 77 0.12 1.86 31.48 41.42 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 100 64 84 77 0.08 1.90 31.32 40.96 LSU-Rosepine (101) 65 84 77 0.00 1.28 30.22 41.93 MM MM MM Natchitoches 97 66 82 77 0.69 1.46 26.68 38.97 Extreme/Average 101 64 83 77 0.26 1.55 26.68 39.91 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 98 67 83 79 0.04 1.84 24.86 42.85 Brusly 94 64 81 77 0.09 6.35 36.39 47.21 Bunkie 98 64 82 78 0.45 1.25 36.67 44.10 LSU-Alexandria 99 (58) 81 77 0.18 0.54 26.24 41.53 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 99 58 82 78 0.19 2.50 31.04 43.44 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 96 65 82 78 0.00 1.22 34.49 48.58 LSU-Baton Rouge 95 64 82 78 0.48 5.03 31.38 46.26 LSU-Clinton 95 63 80 77 0.20 4.57 35.23 46.81 LSU-Hammond MM MM MM 78 0.00 0.46 34.50 48.71 MM MM MM Slidell MM MM MM 78 0.00 1.79 58.25 47.93 Extreme/Average 96 63 81 78 0.23 4.80 33.31 48.49 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 98 68 84 78 0.03 1.06 31.11 43.44 Jennings 93 68 81 78 0.75 2.80 32.93 43.61 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 95 62 79 78 0.10 2.27 35.12 44.09 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 98 62 83 79 0.39 1.93 32.93 44.56 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 93 65 81 78 0.01 3.50 36.71 46.40 LSU-Jeanerette 91 66 80 78 1.15 5.00 38.34 47.01 Morgan City MM MM MM 79 0.00 3.00 35.84 49.53 Extreme/Average 93 65 80 79 0.58 4.25 37.53 47.45 9. Southeast Galliano 92 66 81 79 0.00 0.15 55.01 50.87 Houma MM MM MM 79 0.00 6.35 54.04 49.40 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park MM MM MM 80 M.MM 0.09 52.03 49.06 Reserve MM MM MM 79 0.50 0.64 39.68 49.85 Extreme/Average 92 66 81 80 0.17 M.MM MM.MM 49.15 MM MM MM State State Averages 101 58 82 78 0.27 2.51 31.15 43.05 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through September 18, 2005