Mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released June 1, 2004 Week Ending Date May 30, 2004 Issue MI-CW2204 Agricultural Summary Cool and Rainy Two days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 30, according to the USDA-NASS-Michigan Statistical Office. Scattered rain continued to fall across much of the State, hindering any drying of cropland. Much of the State's farm ground was still too wet for tillage or planting, but a few dry days late in the week allowed some farmers to make limited progress. Many growers reported mudding in crops just to put some seed in the ground as the optimal planting window closed. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.27 inches in the central Lower Peninsula to 1.95 inches in the western Upper Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 5 degrees below normal in five of the State's districts to 2 degrees below normal in the southeast Lower Peninsula. A farmer in the Thumb commented, "We are facing still wet conditions. It keeps raining and raining. Just when it's dry enough to get some planting done, more rain hits." A reporter in the northeast concurred, "This inclement weather is really putting stress on crops and farmers." Field Crops Report Field Crops Cold, wet, and windy weather continued across the State. Persistent rains this past week put a halt to fieldwork. Soil moisture across the State was above normal due to the rain. Corn was still emerging, but at a slow pace. In some areas, corn has started to turn yellow. Rain and standing water kept corn from being replanted. Alfalfa fields were suffering because of too much rain. Overall, hay was looking great with all the moisture; the first cutting of hay will be above average. In some areas around the State, the first cutting of hay was ready to be harvested. Some soybean fields are under water. Soybean fields that had been planted had emerged with water damage. Dry weather is needed for farmers to finish planting the rest of their crop. Wheat fields were still being watched closely due to powdery mildew being spotted in some fields. Wheat was in a critical heading stage so infections of Fusarium head scab can occur. White wheat was sprayed for vomitoxins. Overall, wheat was growing at a rapid pace. Sugarbeet seedling diseases showed up in some fields. Sugarbeet cultivation and post spraying for weeds continued. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Cooler temperatures across Michigan have slowed growth for many fruit crops. The cooler temperatures are also slowing insect activity. Strong winds have made it difficult to spray, and standing water was a problem for some growers last week, especially along the southern edge of the State. Apples were approximately 1 inch in diameter. Primary scab season for apples has ended, but the threat of a secondary season is possible. Plum curculio has been a problem for the past week on the western side of the State; there were also reports of potato leaf hopper. In the southeast, it has been reported that European red mites are under control but oriental fruit moth has been causing problems. The window for thinning is about to close. Thinners may not work as effectively in the cooler temperatures. Peaches were approximately 16 mm in diameter in the southeast. In the west, peaches were infested with plum curculio. Sweet cherries had many broken limbs due to previous severe weather, especially in western areas. Tart cherries were infested with bacterial canker in most parts of the State. Due to the large amount of standing water, brown rot was common. Tart cherries also had trouble with cherry leaf spot on the southwestern edge of the State. Grapes have shot out up to 8 inches long in western Michigan. There has been little sign of strawberry clipper in the southeast. In western Michigan, bloom has just begun. Much of the area was waterlogged, which in some cases leads to root rot or leather rot. Blueberry bloom has ended in southwestern Michigan. Vegetables Wet fields continued to adversely affect vegetable crops across the State. Transplanting of a wide variety of produce was limited due to the inclement weather. High winds caused some damage to plastic being laid in the southwest. Asparagus harvest continued. Some fields were too wet to operate carts in and growers resorted to walk picking. Quality was inconsistent and yields varied due to the fluctuating temperatures. Some producers will wrap up harvest this week. Celery planting was limited to three days or less. Fields already planted were showing some water damage. Growers in the south central tried to squeeze in potato and snap bean planting as much as the weather allowed. In the northeast, less than 25 percent of the potatoes had been planted. Flooding in carrot acreage adversely affected already thin stands in the west central. Emerged plants were at the fourth true leaf. Early planted sweet corn was emerged but pale due to the wet weather. In the southwest, transplanting of peppers and eggplants moved along and zucchini transplants in tunnels were flowering. Also in the southwest, transplanted cucumbers were runnering and flowering and tomatoes in tunnels were in flower. In the southeast, processing tomato planting was way behind schedule. Transplanting of melons, peppers and other vegetable crops in the southeast was behind schedule as well, as producers waited for the conditions to improve. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/30/04 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 0 0 31 69 Subsoil : 0 2 46 52 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/30/04 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 6 31 45 17 Barley : 10 2 23 63 2 Corn : 5 10 38 40 7 Oats : 3 8 30 47 12 Pasture : 1 4 17 47 31 Soybeans : 4 16 47 30 3 Winter Wheat : 1 4 20 52 23 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/30/04 ------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last :5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : All hay, first cutting : 5 2 9 10 Asparagus, harvested : 57 48 64 66 Barley, planted : 96 90 93 94 Barley, emerged : 88 61 76 84 Corn, planted : 77 71 83 87 Corn, emerged : 65 55 44 61 Oats, emerged : 97 90 91 93 Potatoes, planted : 69 63 NA NA Potatoes, emerged : 46 30 NA NA Soybeans, planted : 45 36 55 64 Soybeans, emerged : 33 26 16 35 Winter wheat, headed : 56 20 11 35 ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 05/30/04 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 : 66 30 255 307 1.91 3.63 4.65 7.17 Marquette : 74 31 217 280 2.23 4.56 5.50 8.41 Stephenson : 68 32 345 400 1.88 3.88 5.41 8.04 Western UP : 74 29 -5 249 305 302 1.95 3.69 4.66 6.93 5.65 3.37 : Cornell : 66 34 200 289 1.51 3.52 4.31 6.30 Sault St Marie : 66 33 144 268 1.28 3.24 5.03 6.95 Eastern UP : 68 30 -3 177 245 209 1.47 3.16 4.28 5.85 5.44 3.01 : Beulah : 71 33 336 357 1.17 3.06 6.38 10.06 Lake City : 70 31 358 338 1.02 3.35 7.36 11.66 Old Mission : 71 33 313 313 0.60 3.75 5.98 8.46 Pellston : 73 25 300 330 0.80 4.17 5.43 7.21 Northwest : 73 25 -4 312 317 361 0.89 3.40 6.01 8.78 5.30 2.61 : Alpena : 70 29 292 279 0.77 2.86 4.47 6.91 Houghton Lake : 71 33 371 372 0.28 2.46 7.26 10.66 Rogers City : 68 31 328 262 0.60 2.59 5.39 8.32 Northeast : 74 29 -5 342 331 336 0.56 2.64 5.71 8.81 5.28 2.76 : Fremont : 70 37 473 432 1.37 3.80 8.88 10.75 Hart : 69 39 418 363 1.46 3.39 8.92 11.21 Muskegon : 68 39 469 406 2.12 6.32 9.59 11.43 West Central : 70 37 -5 437 393 413 1.60 4.41 8.83 10.91 5.83 2.67 : Alma : 72 39 516 414 0.25 3.27 6.27 10.03 Big Rapids : 72 35 466 396 0.32 2.91 6.11 8.22 Central : 72 35 -3 495 401 449 0.27 3.18 6.40 9.74 5.86 2.79 : Bad Axe : 72 34 414 282 0.01 2.33 4.96 9.63 Pigeon : 72 37 390 297 0.34 3.46 6.75 10.78 Saginaw : 73 41 468 369 0.24 2.71 7.48 10.00 Standish : 73 34 415 336 0.32 1.60 6.59 10.26 East Central : 73 34 -5 415 330 430 0.34 2.60 6.53 10.00 5.18 2.63 : Fennville : 70 41 521 406 1.37 4.68 6.78 8.66 Grand Rapids : 72 42 612 432 0.98 4.49 9.36 12.29 Holland : 71 42 534 409 1.48 2.33 5.20 7.03 South Bend, IN : 78 42 675 479 1.91 3.93 6.02 7.30 Watervliet : 74 41 573 432 1.35 3.74 5.40 7.04 Southwest : 78 38 -5 573 451 485 1.49 4.24 7.15 8.99 6.42 3.01 : Belding : 71 38 546 415 0.82 4.04 7.35 9.69 Coldwater : 72 40 563 417 0.38 2.67 5.25 6.83 Lansing : 74 39 569 446 0.82 5.04 9.27 11.04 South Central : 80 38 -4 571 455 485 0.95 4.24 8.00 9.79 6.11 2.92 : Detroit : 78 44 618 472 0.48 4.78 6.90 8.68 Flint : 78 41 605 458 0.80 4.39 6.60 8.55 Romeo : 76 38 545 403 0.24 4.27 7.94 10.44 Tipton : 76 42 576 453 0.91 2.78 5.68 7.14 Toledo, OH : 80 43 687 490 1.11 2.72 3.90 5.64 Southeast : 80 37 -2 585 454 461 0.75 3.59 6.47 8.52 6.06 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.