la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 16, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.9 Soil moisture supplies: 34% very short, 36% short, 28% adequate and 2% surplus Field Crops Report Most of the state has not received a significant amount of rain since Hurricane Rita. Louisiana producers were busy harvesting crops. Cotton and soybean harvesting made excellent progress, with both crops remaining ahead of last year and the 5-year average. Rice producers were wrapping up harvest. Sugarcane harvest was in full swing across the state; producers were reporting only fair yields. Planting of sugarcane was near completion. Sweet potato harvesting continued, making excellent progress with favorable conditions. Wheat planting was underway. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Citrus producers were testing fruit to sell. Vegetable producers were working land and replanting some crops lost to the hurricanes. Pecan harvesting progressed to 11 percent. Crawfish producers continued checking water quality and draining most ponds. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Pastures that were affected by the hurricanes remained in poor condition. Cattlemen were feeding hay and supplemental feed to cattle. Some cattlemen were removing debris from pastures in preparation for ryegrass planting. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Cotton Harvested 89 73 53 71 Hay Second Cutting 100 99 100 99 Pecans Harvested 11 5 11 13 Rice Harvested 99 98 100 99 Soybeans Turning Color 100 99 99 99 Dropping Leaves 98 94 93 94 Harvested 91 82 72 71 Sugarcane Planted 99 98 100 99 Harvested 13 4 16 19 Sweet potatoes Harvested 67 49 40 61 Wheat Planted 6 3 7 15 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 23 19 38 20 0 Sweet potatoes 4 11 34 51 0 Livestock 6 24 46 21 3 Vegetables 22 23 50 5 0 Pasture 20 35 36 8 1 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 10/10/05 TO 10/16/05 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 84 49 68 66 0.00 5.96 31.00 39.90 Minden 84 46 67 66 0.00 4.55 29.84 42.82 Mooringsport 84 49 67 MM 0.00 6.03 29.59 36.29 Extreme/Average 84 46 67 66 0.00 5.51 30.30 40.91 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 85 46 66 66 0.00 2.66 33.26 43.32 Homer/Hill Farm 85 47 67 65 0.00 4.25 36.25 43.31 ULM-Monroe 87 (45) 66 66 0.00 3.11 29.78 44.85 Winnfield 86 47 67 67 0.00 4.39 38.08 46.03 Extreme/Average 87 45 66 66 0.00 3.60 34.34 44.23 3. Northeast Lake Providence 84 53 68 66 0.00 5.22 35.74 45.64 LSU-St Joseph 86 47 68 67 0.00 7.65 36.91 43.97 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 86 49 67 66 0.00 5.98 38.20 43.51 Tallulah 86 51 67 66 0.00 0.00 35.07 45.39 Extreme/Average 86 47 68 67 0.00 6.28 36.95 44.59 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 85 47 67 67 0.00 0.00 31.32 44.50 LSU-Rosepine 87 51 69 68 0.00 0.02 30.24 45.78 MM MM MM Natchitoches 85 47 67 67 0.00 3.78 30.46 42.29 Extreme/Average 87 47 68 67 0.00 3.78 30.46 43.50 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 85 47 69 69 0.00 0.00 24.86 46.81 Brusly 85 51 69 68 0.00 7.32 43.71 50.99 Bunkie 85 53 69 68 0.00 7.00 43.67 47.86 LSU-Alexandria 85 48 67 68 0.00 7.98 34.22 45.43 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 85 47 68 68 0.00 7.43 40.53 47.33 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 87 52 71 68 0.00 1.19 35.68 52.08 LSU-Baton Rouge (88) 52 72 69 0.00 7.62 39.00 49.69 LSU-Clinton 84 54 70 68 0.00 5.35 40.58 50.57 LSU-Hammond 87 50 71 68 0.00 0.00 34.50 52.09 MM MM MM Slidell 86 50 71 69 0.00 0.71 58.96 51.31 Extreme/Average 88 50 71 69 0.00 7.62 39.00 52.05 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 85 54 70 69 0.00 0.00 31.11 47.42 Jennings 86 54 71 70 0.00 9.70 42.63 48.14 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 86 54 71 70 0.00 8.41 43.64 48.04 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 86 54 71 70 0.00 8.41 43.64 48.92 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 85 53 71 70 0.00 4.71 42.61 50.52 LSU-Jeanerette 85 55 70 69 0.00 9.85 48.19 51.19 Morgan City 85 61 74 71 0.00 0.40 36.24 53.79 Extreme/Average 85 53 72 70 0.00 7.28 45.40 51.62 9. Southeast Galliano 85 59 73 71 0.00 0.18 63.51 55.11 Houma 87 55 75 71 0.00 4.78 60.00 53.36 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park MM MM MM 72 0.00 2.29 53.88 52.71 Reserve 87 59 74 69 0.00 5.20 50.81 53.75 Extreme/Average 87 55 74 71 0.00 4.99 MM.MM 53.17 MM MM MM State State Averages 88 45 70 68 0.00 6.24 38.14 46.84 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through October 16, 2005