Mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 10, 2004 Week Ending Date May 9, 2004 Issue MI-CW1904 Agricultural Summary Continued Cool with Frost Four days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 9, according to the USDA-NASS-Michigan Statistical Office. The week brought a variety of conditions to the State. Producers in the primary vegetable and fruit growing districts were hit with a frost early in the week that dropped temperatures to below freezing for several hours. All weather reporting stations except one recorded minimum temperatures below freezing during the week. The cold temperatures adversely affected sugarbeets and limited emergence and development of many other crops. A farmer in the Thumb reported snow flurries. Growers in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula faced continued cold and wet conditions that limited planting progress. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.12 inches in the western Upper Peninsula to 4.53 inches in the west central Lower Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 4 degrees below normal in the east central Lower Peninsula to normal in the southwest Lower Peninsula. A farmer in the east central commented on the inclement conditions, noting that "Planting is on schedule--so far. However, crop progress is slow due to the continued cool weather." A producer in the northwest countered with, "Corn planting here is about 7 to 10 days behind. Cold and wet conditions are delaying progress." Field Crops Report Field Crops Continuous rainfall across the State kept field conditions wet and cool temperatures delayed crop emergence. In northern districts, corn planting continued in less than ideal conditions. In the southern part of the State, emergence is very slow due to prolonged cool weather, but planting is on schedule. Most corn was planted and sprayed for weeds. Alfalfa seedings were at a standstill. Wheat had started to show the effects of being cold and wet for too long. Wheat fields were being scouted, some diseases were found and treatments were made. Overall, wheat looked excellent at this time; cool temperatures and lack of rain have slowed growth. Wheat was at Feekes' stage 6. In the Thumb, sugarbeet stands were thinned out by a hard frost and some fields were being replanted. Planting of soybeans continued. Hay was growing at a rapid pace. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Temperatures fell into the mid to upper twenties on two consecutive nights, May 2 and May 3. This caused light to moderate damage to some fruit crops in all regions except the northwest. Damage varied widely according to the fruit crop development. Temperatures rose to above normal by the weekend. Concurrent wet conditions increased the potential for bacterial and fungal disease infections. Anti-fungal and anti-bacterial materials were consequently applied. Insecticides to control plum curculio in stone fruit were used. Fruit development, in general, is at or slightly ahead of average. Apples were in late pink stage in the Grand Rapids area and in full bloom in the southwest and southeast Tart cherries were in early bloom in the west central; bloom ended in the southwest. Sweet cherries were in bloom in the west central region but had yet to bloom in the northwest. Peaches were in shuck in the southwest and in early petal fall in the southeast. Strawberry flower clusters emerged from crowns. Grapes in the southwest suffered 10 to 20 percent shoot death on average from the frosts. Blueberries were in early pink bud stage in the west central and early bloom in the southwest. There was some winter damage to all varieties in Ottawa and Allegan counties. Pruning was done to eliminate dieback. Vegetables Frost hit the asparagus crop early in the week in several districts. In the west central, where much of the crop is located, growers estimated that harvest will be reduced by one to three pickings with a loss of 10 to 25 percent of the total crop. Harvest was halted until new spears emerge. Farmers continued to report some wind damage, both to vegetable crops and to their respective small grain cover crops. Carrots, which were at first true leaf in first plantings, were adversely affected by the wind in the west central and may require replanting. Spinach for processing escaped relatively unscathed. Sweet corn planting continued. Most growers were on their second planting. In the southeast, much of the cabbage crop was in the ground, tomato planting had started and pepper planting will begin soon. Early lettuce had been seeded and transplanted in the southeast. In the southwest, many onion plantings were emerged and some were in the early flag stage, while radish planting in the district was well underway. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/09/04 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 3 10 54 33 Subsoil : 3 23 57 17 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/09/04 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Pasture : 3 5 32 46 14 Winter Wheat : 0 1 22 60 17 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/09/04 ------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last :5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Asparagus, harvested : 17 11 NA NA Barley, planted : 67 61 46 70 Barley, emerged : 48 31 7 49 Corn, planted : 60 42 32 41 Corn, emerged : 10 2 2 7 Oats, planted : 87 84 75 82 Oats, emerged : 64 45 30 55 Potatoes, planted : 32 20 NA NA Potatoes, emerged : 4 NA NA NA Soybeans, planted : 22 12 7 15 Soybeans, emerged : 0 0 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Contact Information U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Michigan Statistical Office 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 05/09/04 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 : 72 21 120 127 0.11 0.29 2.21 2.63 Marquette : 63 25 82 120 0.01 0.38 2.31 2.92 Stephenson : 70 21 175 182 0.34 0.65 2.55 2.97 Western UP : 72 18 -2 110 129 123 0.12 0.31 1.96 2.39 3.23 3.37 : Cornell : 56 28 79 117 0.12 0.52 1.77 2.10 Sault St Marie : 56 28 32 104 0.51 1.10 2.43 2.43 Eastern UP : 61 25 -3 54 94 68 0.20 0.62 1.56 1.76 3.42 3.01 : Beulah : 65 28 146 173 1.20 1.60 4.13 4.88 Lake City : 68 24 150 166 1.70 2.38 5.44 6.00 Old Mission : 68 33 123 140 0.34 0.56 2.36 2.82 Pellston : 69 21 122 150 0.21 0.27 1.97 1.99 Northwest : 69 21 -3 129 150 153 0.76 1.13 3.12 3.53 3.52 2.61 : Alpena : 71 26 118 141 0.58 1.72 2.95 3.02 Houghton Lake : 65 25 162 180 1.67 2.35 4.86 5.07 Rogers City : 68 25 138 117 1.11 1.92 3.94 4.04 Northeast : 72 21 -3 147 159 140 1.28 2.15 4.26 4.38 3.47 2.76 : Fremont : 76 30 226 210 4.70 4.91 6.53 6.57 Muskegon : 81 31 217 201 1.43 1.59 3.14 3.27 West Central : 81 30 NA 221 196 184 4.53 4.80 6.41 6.61 3.89 2.67 : Alma : 73 28 248 215 1.75 4.00 5.26 5.51 Big Rapids : 73 26 220 197 2.63 3.38 4.28 4.74 Central : 73 26 -2 238 203 204 2.14 3.94 5.21 5.48 3.97 2.79 : Bad Axe : 74 27 194 127 1.93 3.56 6.48 6.60 Pigeon : 73 29 172 139 2.24 3.73 6.01 6.07 Saginaw : 74 29 212 175 2.46 3.68 4.84 4.98 Standish : 71 27 199 168 2.43 3.58 5.64 6.10 East Central : 74 27 -4 190 160 194 2.36 3.72 5.57 5.80 3.35 2.63 : Fennville : 82 28 234 230 0.80 1.56 2.60 2.68 Grand Rapids : 81 30 289 233 1.43 2.21 4.35 4.36 Holland : 81 30 238 223 0.95 1.60 2.77 2.78 South Bend, IN : 88 29 324 282 0.30 1.10 1.57 1.58 Watervliet : 86 30 275 259 0.28 1.01 1.90 1.92 Southwest : 89 25 0 272 259 229 0.94 1.66 2.75 2.79 4.10 3.01 : Belding : 81 27 251 242 1.37 1.85 3.56 3.71 Coldwater : 81 28 268 241 0.98 2.26 2.49 2.56 Lansing : 80 26 268 240 1.55 2.68 3.18 3.32 South Central : 88 26 -1 271 258 230 1.73 2.74 3.39 3.52 3.92 2.92 : Detroit : 83 32 281 260 1.16 2.35 2.85 2.94 Flint : 80 29 276 242 0.83 2.24 2.59 2.78 Romeo : 82 21 255 214 1.98 3.08 4.41 4.48 Tipton : 84 27 272 262 1.15 2.32 2.53 2.61 Toledo, OH : 87 28 311 270 0.54 1.32 2.21 2.28 Southeast : 87 21 -1 270 251 215 1.63 2.87 3.50 3.63 3.96 2.85 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.