Mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 17, 2004 Week Ending Date May 16, 2004 Issue MI-CW2004 Agricultural Summary Warm and Wet Weather Prevails Two days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 16, according to the USDA-NASS-Michigan Statistical Office. Rain and warm temperatures were the rule across much of the State. The southern half of the Lower Peninsula, which so far had experienced a fairly dry spring, received abundant precipitation. Severe weather was recorded in several districts. Minor hail was reported in the southeast. The wet weather limited most fieldwork for the week. A few areas missed the showers and reported still dry conditions. A vast majority of stations recorded well over one inch of rain over the last week, with several receiving substantially more than two inches. District average precipitation amounts ranged from 0.79 inches in the western Upper Peninsula to 1.67 inches in the northwest Lower Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 1 degree above normal in the western Upper Peninsula to 9 degrees above normal in the central and southeast Lower Peninsula. A farmer in the southwest stated, "Planting has stopped in my area. We are waiting for the rain to stop so things can dry out. We need to delay some of this rainfall until later in the growing season." Growers in the south central agreed, commenting that, "Heavy rains have put a big brake on all fieldwork and planting. We did need the rain, but it can stop now." Field Crops Report Field Crops Rain continued across the State. There was little to no field activity this past week due to wet weather conditions. Soil moisture was at its highest for the growing season due to the amount of rain across the State. Corn was still emerging. In some areas, farmers may have to replant corn fields. Rain has delayed application of herbicides. Hay continued to grow and fill out. Soybeans had started to emerged. Dry weather is needed to get the rest of the crop in the ground. Wheat fields were being watched closely due to powdery mildew being spotted in some fields. Spraying for the mildew problem had started. Overall, wheat is growing at a rapid pace. Sugarbeet fields were being sprayed, and stands looked good. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Windy and wet conditions made spraying of pesticides and application of thinners difficult in orchards across the State. At the same time, the high humidity kept disease pressures high. Fireblight prediction models indicated a high risk of infection for apples or pears with open bloom. Apples were in full bloom in the Grand Rapids area and in petal fall in the southwest. Tart cherries were in full bloom in the west central and in white bud in the northwest. Sweet cherries were in petal fall in the west central and in full bloom in the northwest. Peaches were in shuck split in the southwest and in shuck in the southeast. Potential yields looked good in the southeast; freeze losses were not significant. Strawberries began to bloom in the southeast; bloom ended in the southwest. Insect infestations have been light. Grapes in low areas throughout the southwest suffered shoot death from the early May frosts. The true extent of the injury will not be known until secondary buds emerge. Blueberries were in early bloom in the west central and full bloom in the southwest, where the bloom looked light. Growers were spraying to combat Phomopsis twig blight. Plums were in full bloom in the west central. Vegetables Heavy rains minimized the State's vegetable growers activities over much of the past week. Farmers across the State reported scattered water damage to a variety of crops. After last week's frost damage, asparagus harvest had resumed. Warm temperatures for most of the week had growers picking almost daily. Wet soils made harvest somewhat difficult. Standing water in some fields could lead to potential damage of crowns. In the southeast, tomato transplanting was well behind schedule; in the southwest, early plantings in tunnels had been staked and were at first tie. In the west central, producers reported some water damage to emerged carrot and spinach crops. Some replanting of carrots was anticipated. Harvest of overwintered spinach was expected to begin soon. In the southwest, celery planting continued on schedule and direct seeded cucumbers were at the cotyledon stage. Onion planting was complete in the southwest and west central. In the southeast, early planted sweet corn was at the sixth and seventh leaf stage. Scattered damage from the earlier cool, wet conditions was reported. Cabbage in the southeast was doing well in spite of the adverse conditions. Potato emergence and development progressed. Hilling was delayed due to wet soils. Some Colorado potato beetle activity was reported. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/16/04 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 1 1 33 65 Subsoil : 2 9 57 32 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/16/04 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Oats : 0 3 32 52 13 Pasture : 2 5 30 46 17 Winter Wheat : 0 1 29 54 16 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/16/04 ------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last :5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Asparagus, harvested : 31 17 27 35 Barley, planted : 80 67 61 79 Barley, emerged : 50 48 30 65 Corn, planted : 65 60 38 59 Corn, emerged : 36 10 9 23 Oats, planted : 91 87 89 92 Oats, emerged : 76 64 60 76 Potatoes, planted : 54 32 NA NA Potatoes, emerged : 10 4 NA NA Soybeans, planted : 33 22 10 29 Soybeans, emerged : 16 0 2 7 Winter wheat, headed : 3 0 0 2 ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 05/16/04 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 : 81 27 174 176 0.84 0.95 1.77 3.47 Marquette : 84 33 137 162 0.91 0.92 2.00 3.83 Stephenson : 83 31 226 240 1.17 1.51 3.03 4.14 Western UP : 86 27 1 161 176 170 0.79 0.91 1.71 3.18 3.97 3.37 : Cornell : 78 35 124 170 0.67 0.69 1.88 2.67 Sault St Marie : 75 35 81 152 1.04 1.55 2.98 3.47 Eastern UP : 82 29 3 103 134 103 0.85 1.03 2.08 2.58 4.14 3.01 : Beulah : 84 37 215 222 2.02 3.22 5.11 6.90 Lake City : 80 34 246 216 1.72 3.42 5.56 7.72 Old Mission : 84 33 198 189 1.78 2.12 3.67 4.60 Pellston : 87 30 200 196 0.99 1.20 2.45 2.98 Northwest : 87 30 5 204 196 206 1.67 2.43 4.08 5.20 4.10 2.61 : Alpena : 87 30 207 177 0.86 1.44 3.36 3.88 Houghton Lake : 82 36 257 237 1.85 3.52 4.97 6.92 Rogers City : 85 35 228 155 1.26 2.37 4.28 5.30 Northeast : 87 30 8 238 206 192 1.28 2.57 4.47 5.67 4.08 2.76 : Fremont : 81 36 321 266 0.38 5.08 6.20 6.95 Hart : 80 37 272 229 1.67 5.37 6.89 7.66 Muskegon : 82 39 308 257 1.19 2.62 3.57 4.46 West Central : 82 34 6 288 249 244 1.19 4.23 5.40 6.30 4.50 2.67 : Alma : 84 40 359 265 1.25 3.00 6.03 6.76 Big Rapids : 84 40 318 250 1.06 3.20 4.21 5.31 Central : 84 40 9 343 256 269 1.20 3.22 5.73 6.56 4.59 2.79 : Bad Axe : 86 36 291 179 0.42 2.35 5.36 7.02 Pigeon : 85 38 262 187 0.96 3.20 5.56 7.03 Saginaw : 84 38 315 233 2.03 4.49 6.56 7.01 Standish : 84 37 292 218 2.56 4.99 6.88 8.66 East Central : 86 36 7 285 211 255 1.30 3.66 5.95 7.10 3.97 2.63 : Fennville : 84 36 335 280 1.29 2.09 3.76 3.97 Grand Rapids : 85 41 409 289 2.29 3.72 6.35 6.65 Holland : 83 38 343 275 1.09 2.04 3.64 3.87 South Bend, IN : 85 42 451 340 1.66 1.96 3.20 3.24 Watervliet : 80 39 380 302 1.21 1.49 3.11 3.13 Southwest : 86 36 7 383 311 296 1.47 2.44 4.03 4.28 4.98 3.01 : Belding : 83 37 359 279 1.58 2.95 4.60 5.29 Coldwater : 83 37 376 290 1.50 2.48 3.96 4.06 Lansing : 83 35 382 302 2.13 3.68 5.20 5.45 South Central : 86 35 8 384 311 296 1.59 3.32 4.84 5.11 4.78 2.92 : Detroit : 84 48 398 325 0.66 1.82 3.44 3.60 Flint : 85 38 398 307 1.36 2.19 3.93 4.14 Romeo : 86 39 358 270 1.27 3.50 5.84 6.00 Tipton : 84 46 379 317 1.59 2.74 4.06 4.20 Toledo, OH : 86 50 435 338 0.63 1.17 2.68 2.91 Southeast : 86 38 9 383 311 279 1.08 2.63 4.43 4.63 4.70 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.