mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 6, 2005 Week Ending Date September 4, 2005 Issue MI-CW3705 Agricultural Summary Dry Weather Returns Seven days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 4 according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation amounts ranged from none in the northwest, northeast, west central, central, east central, and southwest Lower Peninsula to 0.04 inches in the southeast Lower Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 2 degrees below normal in the northeast, southwest, and south central Lower Peninsula to 1 degree above normal in the eastern Upper Peninsula and northwest Lower Peninsula. Recent cool, dry weather has led to mixed results for crops. A farmer in the west central said, “The winds this week took the remaining moisture that we received last week out of the soil. The good part is that it has helped dry down corn. The bad part is that there are crops that still need moisture.” A farmer from the southeast said, “Weather has turned dry again, but most crops should have enough moisture to mature, except for alfalfa seedings and pastures.” Field Crops Report Field Crops Temperatures continued below average across most of the State. Many areas remained dry. Corn continued to advance to maturity. Some farmers were chopping corn silage while others reported that the corn had dried down too much for silage. Soybean fields were varied with reports of white mold, downy mildew, brown spot, spider mites and soybean cyst nematode damage. The third cutting of alfalfa continued with decent yields for many areas. There were reports that the third cutting was yielding higher than second crop due to earlier dry weather. For sugarbeets, harvest may start in two weeks; fields need rain to loosen the soil for good digging. There were continued reports of Cercospora leafspot. Dry bean harvest continued for early planted fields. Wheat field preparations for planting continued. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Harvest of early season apples continued. McIntosh harvest began in the southwest. In the west central, some apple varieties were dropping prematurely due to the dry, hot weather. Harvest started in the southeast. Fruit size was good there. Growers were scouting for third generation codling moths. Grape veraison neared completion in the northwest, where bird management was still an issue. In the southwest, peach harvest continued. Harvest continued in the west central as well. Fall raspberry harvest continued. Harvest of pears continued in the southwest and west central. Harvest was just starting in the southeast. Plum harvesting continued in the southwest and west central. Cracking of fruit and pits continued to be a quality problem in the west central. Vegetables Vegetable crops were well into harvest with good weather conditions across the State. Carrot harvest continued at a steady pace still showing some disease concerns. Celery and onion harvests were in full swing. Peppers began to show some virus symptoms. Potato harvest continued. Pumpkin plants continued to size and appeared to have some viruses due to the dry weather. Harvested snap beans had severe viruses present. Sweet corn harvest continued. Squash, zucchini, and cucumbers continued to show more signs of downy mildew. Harvest of tomatoes for processing and fresh market continued. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/04/05 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 31 47 22 0 Subsoil : 28 49 23 0 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/04/05 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 6 27 31 27 9 Corn : 3 8 26 45 18 Dry beans : 1 5 26 55 13 Pasture : 11 26 32 27 4 Soybeans : 4 7 30 42 17 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/04/05 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 70 58 49 49 Apples, harvested : 13 6 NA NA Blueberries, harvested : 96 93 96 NA Corn, dough : 95 86 65 66 Corn, dent : 76 46 23 27 Corn, mature : 19 3 NA 2 Dry beans, turning leaves : 89 38 47 49 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 35 7 NA 18 Dry beans, harvested : 4 NA NA NA Peaches, harvested : 75 64 78 NA Potatoes, harvested : 27 19 18 NA Soybeans, turning leaves : 45 14 9 19 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 8 1 0 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 09/04/05 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2005 :2004 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 88 39 2,053 1,506 0.03 0.47 1.32 11.05 Marquette : 84 41 1,963 1,412 0.04 0.90 1.41 12.37 Stephenson : 82 45 2,127 1,752 0.01 0.81 2.69 9.76 Western UP : 88 39 0 2,024 1,504 1,709 0.03 0.53 1.49 10.62 16.97 3.58 : Cornell : 82 46 2,033 1,557 0.00 1.35 2.56 8.97 Sault St Marie : 78 49 1,933 1,283 0.06 1.28 2.92 10.47 Eastern UP : 82 46 1 1,932 1,335 1,504 0.02 1.22 2.59 10.33 15.89 3.55 : Beulah : 84 52 2,357 1,787 0.00 0.59 4.92 13.20 Lake City : 80 45 2,138 1,759 0.00 0.12 2.61 14.11 Old Mission : 84 51 2,219 1,715 0.00 0.66 4.45 11.35 Pellston : 82 39 2,153 1,626 0.00 0.70 4.92 11.86 Northwest : 84 39 1 2,188 1,668 1,932 0.00 0.46 4.41 12.69 14.98 3.66 : Alpena : 79 43 2,063 1,694 0.00 0.05 3.79 13.01 Houghton Lake : 79 42 2,194 1,846 0.00 0.21 1.30 10.22 Rogers City : 80 44 2,084 1,715 0.00 0.12 4.02 15.00 Northeast : 89 42 -2 2,141 1,730 1,872 0.00 0.15 3.59 13.64 15.01 3.47 : Fremont : 85 49 2,468 2,059 0.00 0.25 0.81 6.89 Hart : 84 46 2,351 1,908 0.00 0.30 0.75 10.91 Muskegon : 84 51 2,538 2,077 0.00 0.51 2.06 7.76 West Central : 85 46 0 2,421 1,979 2,105 0.00 0.34 1.18 9.13 15.36 3.19 : Alma : 83 49 2,478 2,170 0.00 0.12 0.52 9.96 Big Rapids : 83 49 2,399 2,025 0.00 0.01 0.01 8.62 Central : 83 48 0 2,427 2,094 2,175 0.00 0.12 0.35 9.05 16.29 3.09 : Bad Axe : 82 50 2,442 1,989 0.00 0.19 1.18 12.21 Pigeon : 81 46 2,266 1,962 0.00 0.02 0.41 9.61 Saginaw : 83 49 2,426 2,176 0.01 0.16 1.12 12.31 Standish : 82 48 2,381 1,936 0.00 0.45 1.14 12.70 East Central : 83 46 -1 2,357 2,025 2,173 0.00 0.37 1.21 11.62 14.50 2.70 : Fennville : 86 49 2,522 2,130 0.00 0.31 0.65 5.44 Grand Rapids : 84 52 2,664 2,405 0.00 0.28 1.39 16.29 Holland : 86 50 2,618 2,208 0.00 0.08 0.98 3.52 South Bend, IN : 84 49 2,816 2,547 0.00 0.17 2.06 9.83 Watervliet : 85 49 2,688 2,292 0.00 0.18 1.38 9.01 Southwest : 88 45 -2 2,645 2,299 2,362 0.00 0.19 1.14 8.59 16.63 3.26 : Belding : 83 50 2,428 2,167 0.00 0.30 0.45 12.39 Coldwater : 82 48 2,522 2,258 0.02 0.22 1.08 11.57 Lansing : 83 50 2,675 2,280 0.00 0.07 0.67 14.86 South Central : 85 48 -2 2,581 2,297 2,326 0.01 0.18 0.76 11.44 16.64 2.79 : Detroit : 84 56 2,842 2,553 0.10 0.77 1.32 12.29 Flint : 82 49 2,553 2,330 0.00 0.52 0.83 11.25 Romeo : 82 48 2,570 2,290 0.07 0.47 1.52 13.33 Tipton : 82 50 2,617 2,272 0.03 0.06 1.17 12.94 Toledo, OH : 83 52 2,797 2,614 0.09 0.42 1.76 11.22 Southeast : 85 47 -1 2,626 2,399 2,321 0.04 0.48 1.56 13.08 16.00 2.43 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Issued by the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office 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.