la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date November 6, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.3 Soil moisture supplies: 53% very short, 35% short and 12% adequate Field Crops Report Louisiana finally received scattered showers last week, ending the three week dry period. The rain improved conditions but not enough to significantly improve soil moisture. Cotton and soybean harvests were completed. Producers were preparing fields for next year. Some rice producers were holding off on fall field preparations due to salty soils. Sugarcane harvesting continued with reports of good sugar but light tonnage. Some sugarcane producers were hindered with downed sugarcane and debris from hurricanes in fields. Winter wheat planting continued at a slow pace due to dry conditions. The recent rain was needed to help planted wheat emerge. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Citrus producers continued selling satsumas. The recent rain improved vegetable conditions, but producers were hoping for more rain. Harvesting of pecans continued. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Showers last week improved pasture conditions. Cattlemen were selling cows and feeding hay and supplemental feed to cattle. Cattlemen were uncertain if they will be able to plant ryegrass on the acreage affected by the hurricanes. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Cotton Harvested 100 99 93 90 Pecans Harvested 39 25 42 38 Soybeans Harvested 100 99 95 91 Sugarcane Harvested 39 30 37 40 Sweet potatoes Harvested 96 89 78 85 Wheat Planted 35 20 36 43 Emerged 8 3 15 25 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 19 36 42 3 0 Livestock 6 27 48 16 3 Vegetables 24 44 27 5 0 Pasture 29 46 24 1 0 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 10/31/05 TO 11/06/05 AIR PRECIPITATION 4 INCH SOIL TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR. TO TEMPERATURE MAX MIN AVG NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM MAX MIN AVG 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 80 38 61 59 1.31 1.31 32.31 43.11 Minden 83 38 62 59 1.13 1.13 30.97 45.90 Mooringsport 81 42 63 MM 1.34 1.34 30.93 39.40 Extreme/Average 83 38 62 59 1.26 1.26 31.62 44.11 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 84 36 63 59 0.67 0.67 33.93 46.34 Homer/Hill Farm 81 38 63 58 1.55 1.55 37.80 46.40 ULM-Monroe 84 34 63 59 0.42 0.42 30.20 47.95 Winnfield 82 36 60 59 0.85 0.85 38.93 49.07 Extreme/Average 84 34 62 59 0.87 0.87 35.22 47.30 3. Northeast Lake Providence 83 41 62 59 0.34 0.34 36.08 48.92 LSU-St Joseph (87)(32) 63 61 0.07 0.07 36.98 46.72 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 86 36 64 60 0.38 0.38 38.58 46.57 Tallulah 86 32 63 59 0.10 0.10 35.17 48.28 Extreme/Average 87 32 63 60 0.22 0.22 37.21 47.60 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 85 33 64 60 1.01 1.01 37.41 47.33 LSU-Rosepine 85 38 65 61 1.10 1.10 31.45 48.74 MM MM MM Natchitoches 85 34 64 60 1.21 1.21 31.67 45.24 Extreme/Average 85 33 64 60 1.11 1.11 31.67 46.41 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 82 35 61 62 0.72 0.72 33.18 50.37 Brusly 83 36 61 62 0.13 0.13 43.85 53.87 Bunkie 84 39 63 62 0.42 0.42 53.09 51.01 LSU-Alexandria 85 35 63 61 0.65 0.65 34.87 48.82 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 85 35 62 62 0.48 0.48 39.36 50.57 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 80 44 65 61 0.69 0.69 38.37 54.77 LSU-Baton Rouge 85 37 61 63 0.05 0.05 39.05 52.35 LSU-Clinton 84 38 61 61 0.05 0.05 40.63 53.54 LSU-Hammond 85 40 61 62 0.01 0.01 39.45 54.71 MM MM MM Slidell 80 44 65 63 0.26 0.26 60.07 53.72 Extreme/Average 85 37 63 62 0.21 0.21 39.05 54.71 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 86 41 64 62 1.14 1.14 46.35 50.38 Jennings 84 41 64 63 0.77 0.77 43.91 51.13 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 86 42 64 63 0.59 0.59 44.23 50.99 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 86 41 64 64 0.83 0.83 44.07 51.93 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 84 39 62 64 0.06 0.06 42.68 53.13 LSU-Jeanerette 84 41 61 63 0.35 0.35 48.54 53.81 Morgan City 82 48 66 65 0.40 0.40 41.15 56.34 Extreme/Average 84 39 63 64 0.27 0.27 45.61 54.32 9. Southeast Galliano 82 42 66 65 0.40 0.40 67.61 57.63 Houma 84 46 66 65 0.09 0.09 60.09 55.49 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park MM MM MM 66 0.07 0.07 54.98 54.89 Reserve 85 40 62 64 0.00 0.00 50.82 56.16 Extreme/Average 85 40 65 65 0.16 0.16 MM.MM 55.54 MM MM MM State State Averages 87 32 63 62 0.59 0.59 38.41 49.85 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through November 6, 2005