Mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released November 1, 2004 Week Ending Date October 31, 2004 Issue MI-CW4404 Agricultural Summary Warm Temperatures Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 31, according to the USDA-NASS-Michigan Statistical Office. Farmers encountered a wide variety of conditions over the week. Scattered rain showers slowed harvest in some areas, while other locations were able to make decent progress. Gusty winds over the weekend led to concern over lodging in the corn crop and potential damage to late planted soybeans. Temperatures warmed up considerably over the week. Averages ranged from 4 degrees above normal in the western Upper Peninsula to 9 degrees above normal in the southeast Lower Peninsula. Most areas received rainfall over the week, but totals were highly variable depending on location. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.55 inches in the south central Lower Peninsula to 1.14 inches in the northwest Lower Peninsula. A farmer in the Thumb commented, "We didn't have much for drying weather. It's keeping us out of the field." A farmer in the southeast added, "Wheat took off overnight with the moisture and warm temperatures, but harvest is going slow with the wet conditions." Field Crops Report Field Crops Progress reports were mixed across the State. Some farmers were able to make decent harvest progress, while for other growers, inclement weather put a damper on harvesting and fieldwork. Many areas still faced high moisture levels in late planted corn. Farmers were delaying harvest in hope that the crop would continue to dry down. Scattered rainfall across the State made soybean harvest difficult. Like the corn crop, farmers had made good progress on early plantings, but were now waiting on later planted fields. Sugarbeet growers were able to make good progress. Winter wheat continued to make good progress. Planting was near completion and the rain over the week helped the crop emerge. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple growers were involved in orchard cleanup activities and tree trimming throughout the State last week. Overall, Michigan fruit growers had a generally favorable season during 2004. The preliminary "Non-citrus Fruit and Nut Report" will be published by NASS on January 25, 2005. Vegetables Harvest of fall vegetable crops across the State was nearly wrapped up. Potato harvest was complete in the southeast and nearing completion in most other districts. Celery harvest was nearly finished, with only a few acres left. For most farmers, pumpkin picking wrapped up over the weekend. Carrot harvest was ongoing. Late cabbage looked good. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 10/31/04 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 1 10 77 12 Subsoil : 6 37 54 3 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 10/31/04 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 2 10 28 43 17 Pasture : 7 27 39 24 3 Winter Wheat : 3 9 36 44 8 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 10/31/04 ------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last :5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Apples, harvested : 97 88 NA NA Corn, harvested : 51 34 39 53 Potatoes, harvested : 98 95 NA NA Soybeans, harvested : 70 65 92 83 Sugarbeets, harvested : 68 36 89 78 Winter wheat, planted : 98 93 96 96 Winter wheat, emerged : 76 56 74 75 ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 10/31/04 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 1,893 2,169 0.70 1.80 2.79 27.00 Marquette : 62 27 1,861 2,076 0.50 1.40 2.62 22.42 Stephenson : 64 28 2,234 2,403 0.82 3.01 3.95 23.05 Western UP : 66 26 4 1,964 2,155 2,036 0.62 1.80 2.78 21.31 22.52 2.57 : Cornell : 62 33 1,961 2,277 0.98 2.14 4.64 24.19 Sault St Marie : 65 35 1,691 1,999 0.55 1.87 4.64 22.65 Eastern UP : 65 32 5 1,738 2,006 1,785 1.04 2.07 4.09 21.53 21.54 2.57 : Beulah : 69 37 2,315 2,380 1.40 2.91 4.50 25.61 Lake City : 68 35 2,236 2,238 2.00 2.97 4.50 22.35 Old Mission : 70 41 2,241 2,358 0.80 1.98 4.14 23.32 Pellston : 69 27 2,124 2,230 0.76 1.55 3.72 20.04 Northwest : 70 27 7 2,174 2,261 2,339 1.14 2.13 4.01 21.94 20.84 2.75 : Alpena : 71 36 2,212 2,224 0.20 0.77 2.57 17.91 Houghton Lake : 67 32 2,348 2,364 1.46 1.88 4.21 20.68 Rogers City : 69 34 2,221 2,328 0.97 1.52 3.40 21.31 Northeast : 71 28 6 2,241 2,330 2,259 0.95 1.52 3.37 19.86 20.35 2.40 : Fremont : 70 37 2,607 2,694 0.38 1.90 3.29 21.14 Hart : 70 37 2,455 2,527 0.57 1.96 3.20 23.36 Muskegon : 72 37 2,640 2,803 0.46 2.30 3.46 24.44 West Central : 72 35 8 2,526 2,612 2,559 0.72 2.19 3.48 24.51 21.04 2.94 : Alma : 69 40 2,723 2,714 0.72 1.75 2.94 24.22 Big Rapids : 69 37 2,537 2,484 0.72 2.17 4.15 24.82 Central : 69 36 8 2,654 2,596 2,646 0.69 1.88 3.19 23.64 21.51 2.59 : Bad Axe : 73 46 2,532 2,405 0.70 0.70 2.04 20.38 Pigeon : 71 42 2,506 2,402 0.60 0.77 1.67 21.02 Saginaw : 72 44 2,751 2,666 0.04 0.37 1.32 18.73 Standish : 71 40 2,489 2,373 1.02 1.38 2.30 20.46 East Central : 74 40 8 2,529 2,479 2,661 0.77 1.04 2.15 20.72 19.22 2.41 : Fennville : 74 37 2,705 2,686 0.68 1.92 2.61 16.86 Grand Rapids : 71 36 2,977 2,777 0.38 1.91 3.79 26.08 Holland : 74 38 2,794 2,773 0.37 1.99 3.28 19.51 South Bend, IN : 76 36 3,169 2,984 0.25 0.74 1.63 25.24 Watervliet : 74 38 2,885 2,726 0.21 1.03 2.44 26.66 Southwest : 77 34 8 2,891 2,798 2,916 0.56 1.66 3.03 24.87 22.49 2.99 : Belding : 69 36 2,705 2,641 0.66 1.51 3.23 25.84 Coldwater : 70 38 2,817 2,575 0.37 1.14 2.37 25.30 Lansing : 71 37 2,849 2,737 0.40 0.80 1.82 23.89 South Central : 72 35 8 2,844 2,747 2,860 0.55 1.03 2.25 24.56 21.46 2.41 : Detroit : 75 44 3,188 3,038 0.73 1.01 1.30 21.39 Flint : 72 41 2,892 2,861 1.00 1.11 1.89 20.63 Romeo : 73 38 2,869 2,674 0.59 0.94 2.43 25.99 Tipton : 74 38 2,870 2,713 0.43 0.72 1.78 20.65 Toledo, OH : 75 36 3,228 3,070 0.46 0.91 2.30 20.13 Southeast : 75 35 9 2,923 2,863 2,857 0.71 0.97 2.10 22.70 20.41 2.33 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.