Mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released April 26, 2004 Week Ending Date April 25, 2004 Issue MI-CW1704 Agricultural Summary Varied Weather Across State Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending April 25, according to the Federal/State Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service. The week brought a mix of conditions across the State. Farmers in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula reported cold and wet conditions, while producers in the south portion of the State noted dry conditions. Growers in the Thumb and southern districts also faced unusually windy conditions during the week. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.51 inches in the south central Lower Peninsula to 1.29 inches in the northwest Lower Peninsula. A farmer in the northeast said "Sure be glad when it warms up and hopefully dries out, seems like we've been waiting forever." A producer in the south central noted that in his area, "Field work continues at a good pace, but rain is needed as the topsoil is drying out." Field Crops Report Field Crops Tillage was active across much of the State. Many farmers were also spreading fertilizer in preparation of planting operations. Planting progressed in the major crop growing areas. Corn planting moved along in the southern districts. Some soybeans were also being planted. Oat planting moved along and some earlier seedings had emerged. Sugarbeet producers have nearly completed planting this year's crop; however, recent rain showers led to some concerns about crusting over. Alfalfa stands appeared to have wintered well, with very little winter kill reported. Much of the wheat crop was fertilized and had responded well to the early spring conditions. Potato planting continued. Livestock producers continued hauling and spreading manure on this year's crop ground. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Tree fruits were ahead of normal development last week due to warm temperatures. Apple development ranged from tight cluster in the west central, to pink with blossoms exposed in more southern counties. Apple scab infection was observed, and reports suggest a light infection thus far. Stone fruit was reported to be mostly in bloom. Small fruit was reported to be developing nicely. Reports indicated grape and blueberry bud burst. Vegetables Vegetable growers across the State started planting a wide variety of vegetable crops. Dry weather in the southwest allowed farmers to begin planting turnips and radishes. Celery planting in the district was also on schedule. In both the southwest and southeast, growers reported planting onions and carrots. Producers began planting cabbage in the southeast. In the west central, the asparagus crop progressed rapidly. Some spears were emerging and growers completed the pre-pick sprays and were mowing the rye cover crop. Processing spinach planting neared completion in the west central. Growers also began applying herbicides to a variety of vegetable crops. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 04/25/04 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 17 31 45 7 Subsoil : 10 30 56 4 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 04/25/04 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Pasture : 4 13 38 37 8 Winter Wheat : 1 1 18 57 23 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 04/25/04 ------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last :5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Barley, planted : 25 21 1 33 Barley, emerged : 8 NA NA NA Corn, planted : 15 5 2 3 Oats, planted : 63 58 19 46 Oats, emerged : 20 6 3 18 Potatoes, planted : 14 9 NA NA Soybeans, planted : 3 NA 1 1 Sugarbeets, planted : 96 90 32 53 ------------------------------------------------------------ Contact Information Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service P.O. Box 26248 Lansing, MI 48909-6248 517-324-5300; or 800-453-7501 Fax 517-324-5299 email: nass-mi@nass.usda.gov Web Page: http:/www.nass.usda.gov/mi Weather Information Table Michigan Weather Summary for Week Ending 04/25/04 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2004 :2003 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 55 25 48 79 0.64 1.92 2.34 2.34 Marquette : 57 22 33 69 0.71 1.93 2.54 2.54 Stephenson : 76 23 112 102 1.21 1.90 2.32 2.32 Western UP : 76 19 -4 54 75 54 0.61 1.65 2.09 2.09 1.89 2.28 : Cornell : 59 22 58 68 0.74 1.20 1.53 1.53 Sault St Marie : 58 27 16 53 0.84 1.33 1.33 1.33 Eastern UP : 59 22 -2 32 60 25 0.63 0.94 1.14 1.13 2.01 2.43 : Beulah : 64 29 85 122 1.49 2.53 3.33 3.28 Lake City : 64 30 92 132 1.46 3.06 3.62 3.62 Old Mission : 72 28 74 130 1.33 1.80 2.37 2.26 Pellston : 71 28 72 115 1.19 1.70 1.72 1.72 Northwest : 74 28 -1 75 122 71 1.29 2.00 2.45 2.41 2.21 2.69 : Alpena : 73 24 69 109 0.78 1.23 1.31 1.30 Houghton Lake : 69 30 104 139 0.77 2.51 2.76 2.72 Rogers City : 71 28 85 99 1.10 2.02 2.13 2.12 Northeast : 73 23 0 91 122 64 1.04 2.11 2.24 2.23 2.10 2.52 : Fremont : 73 32 129 157 0.91 1.62 1.80 1.66 Hart : 70 31 109 136 1.19 1.74 1.98 1.96 Muskegon : 66 35 120 137 0.79 1.55 1.69 1.68 West Central : 73 30 0 113 144 88 0.91 1.62 1.85 1.81 2.54 3.16 : Alma : 73 35 148 152 0.78 1.26 1.58 1.51 Big Rapids : 70 28 131 153 0.26 0.90 1.39 1.36 Central : 75 28 2 141 153 99 0.71 1.27 1.61 1.54 2.46 3.07 : Bad Axe : 75 34 122 141 1.38 2.92 3.08 3.04 Pigeon : 73 34 97 144 0.87 2.28 2.37 2.34 Saginaw : 74 37 128 149 0.85 1.16 1.30 1.30 Standish : 74 31 126 131 0.74 2.06 2.52 2.52 East Central : 76 31 2 114 143 96 0.93 1.85 2.10 2.08 2.04 2.55 : Fennville : 74 32 131 165 0.91 1.04 1.17 1.12 Grand Rapids : 75 35 167 175 1.85 2.14 2.15 2.15 Holland : 73 36 134 173 0.95 1.17 1.20 1.18 South Bend, IN : 76 37 184 199 0.44 0.47 0.58 0.48 Watervliet : 72 35 149 173 0.89 0.89 0.95 0.91 Southwest : 76 32 2 154 186 115 0.92 1.13 1.28 1.17 2.73 3.41 : Belding : 75 32 140 161 1.17 1.71 1.93 1.86 Coldwater : 73 36 153 172 0.20 0.23 0.32 0.30 Lansing : 74 30 150 176 0.39 0.50 0.64 0.64 South Central : 76 30 2 155 179 115 0.51 0.66 0.84 0.78 2.59 3.19 : Detroit : 80 43 151 176 0.43 0.50 0.75 0.59 Flint : 77 36 159 179 0.33 0.35 0.56 0.54 Romeo : 79 36 144 162 1.24 1.33 1.70 1.40 Tipton : 78 37 155 165 0.15 0.21 0.31 0.29 Toledo, OH : 81 39 170 229 0.73 0.89 1.11 0.96 Southeast : 84 35 5 151 175 105 0.57 0.64 0.91 0.77 2.67 3.21 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Issued by the Federal/State Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Michigan State University's Cooperative Extension Service, Agricultural Meteorologist, Department of Geography, and Crop Advisory Team ALERTS. 2/ Growing degree days (GDD) is the sum of daily mean temperatures minus 50 per day, 86 maximum And 50 minimum. The GDD is accumulative from April 1.