la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 23, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 7.0 Soil moisture supplies: 50% very short, 42% short and 8% adequate Field Crops Report Conditions remained dry throughout Louisiana last week. The dry weather allowed producers to make excellent progress in harvesting crops. Cotton and soybean harvesting edged closer to completion. Sugarcane harvest continued, and planting was completed. Producers continued reporting average sugar but low tonnage. Sweet potato harvesting continued, remaining ahead of last year and the 5-year average. Wheat planting continued last week. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Citrus producers were harvesting satsumas. Producers were dealing with fruit dropping due to tree damage from the hurricanes. Pecan harvesting continued. Some vegetable producers were hoping for rain before completing planting of fall crops. Several crawfish producers were unable to flood ponds due to poor water quality in canals. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Pasture conditions were depleting as dry conditions prevailed across the state. Cattlemen continued cleaning up debris left in pastures from the hurricanes. Cattlemen were also preparing land for ryegrass planting. Rain was needed to replenish soil moisture before planting can begin. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Cotton Harvested 98 89 72 80 Pecans Harvested 19 11 23 23 Rice Harvested 100 99 100 99 Soybeans Dropping Leaves 100 98 97 98 Harvested 98 91 81 80 Sugarcane Planted 100 99 100 100 Harvested 20 13 20 26 Sweet potatoes Harvested 78 67 54 72 Wheat Planted 11 6 16 24 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 20 29 43 8 0 Sweet potatoes 2 7 36 55 0 Livestock 6 23 48 20 3 Vegetables 33 19 45 3 0 Pasture 34 32 30 4 0 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 10/17/05 TO 10/23/05 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 91 47 69 64 0.00 0.00 31.00 40.95 Minden 89 46 68 63 0.00 0.10 29.84 43.74 Mooringsport 91 49 69 MM 0.00 0.14 29.59 37.27 Extreme/Average 91 46 69 64 0.00 0.08 30.30 41.93 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 91 (35) 66 64 0.00 0.04 33.26 44.30 Homer/Hill Farm 88 52 69 62 0.00 0.10 36.25 44.24 ULM-Monroe (94) 41 67 64 0.00 0.00 29.78 45.83 Winnfield 89 43 67 64 0.00 0.22 38.08 47.01 Extreme/Average 94 35 67 64 0.00 0.09 34.34 45.21 3. Northeast Lake Providence 86 49 68 64 0.00 0.00 35.74 46.69 LSU-St Joseph 90 41 67 65 0.00 0.89 36.91 44.78 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 90 45 71 64 0.00 0.00 38.20 44.45 Tallulah 88 49 68 63 0.00 0.00 35.07 46.25 Extreme/Average 90 41 69 64 0.00 0.22 36.95 45.52 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 90 43 68 65 0.00 0.00 31.32 45.34 LSU-Rosepine 90 43 69 65 0.00 0.02 30.24 46.69 MM MM MM Natchitoches 89 43 67 65 0.00 0.00 30.46 43.27 Extreme/Average 90 43 68 64 0.00 0.00 30.46 44.41 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 88 50 70 66 0.00 0.00 24.86 47.93 Brusly 87 47 67 65 0.00 0.00 43.71 51.91 Bunkie 88 47 69 66 0.00 0.00 43.67 48.79 LSU-Alexandria 90 46 68 65 0.00 0.00 34.22 46.42 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 90 46 69 66 0.00 0.00 40.53 48.31 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 89 49 69 65 0.00 0.00 35.68 52.84 LSU-Baton Rouge 90 42 67 67 0.00 0.04 39.00 50.48 LSU-Clinton 86 48 67 66 0.00 0.00 40.58 51.49 LSU-Hammond 90 48 69 66 0.00 0.00 34.50 52.86 MM MM MM Slidell 87 50 69 67 0.00 0.00 58.96 51.95 Extreme/Average 90 42 68 66 0.00 0.01 39.00 52.82 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 88 43 69 66 0.00 0.00 31.11 48.33 Jennings 87 49 70 68 0.00 0.31 42.63 49.05 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 87 50 71 68 0.00 0.09 43.64 48.94 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 88 43 70 68 0.00 0.09 43.64 49.84 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 86 51 68 67 0.00 0.00 42.61 51.32 LSU-Jeanerette 85 49 68 67 0.00 0.64 48.19 52.03 Morgan City 86 60 73 69 0.00 0.00 36.24 54.51 Extreme/Average 86 49 70 68 0.00 0.32 45.40 52.46 9. Southeast Galliano 87 54 70 69 0.00 0.18 63.51 55.83 Houma 87 54 72 69 0.00 0.30 60.00 53.93 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park MM MM MM 70 0.00 0.00 53.88 53.26 Reserve 87 55 72 67 0.00 0.44 50.81 54.43 Extreme/Average 87 54 71 69 0.00 0.31 MM.MM 53.82 MM MM MM State State Averages 94 35 69 66 0.00 0.11 38.14 47.77 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through October 23, 2005