mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 26, 2005 Week Ending Date September 25, 2005 Issue MI-CW4005 Agricultural Summary Warm Weather and Rain Six days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 25, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.60 inches in the central Lower Peninsula to 2.71 inches in the east central Lower Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 5 degrees above normal in the western Upper Peninsula to 10 degrees above normal in the southwest Lower Peninsula. A farmer in the west central said, "The weather has been too warm to plant wheat, so we will wait a couple more weeks." A farmer from the southwest mentioned, "Some grasses are starting to green up. New alfalfa seedlings are finally getting some growth. Corn is dry enough to combine, but I am waiting for full dry down to save on drying costs." Field Crops Report Field Crops Rain this past week helped improve soil moisture conditions. Corn continued to be harvested for high moisture. Many farmers were looking to cut drying cost by waiting for corn to dry down before harvesting. Corn silage harvest continued in the northern part of the State and finished up in the southern part. Soybean harvest continued. Regrowth of alfalfa and pastures started with recent rains. For sugarbeets, harvest continued at a rate to meet the needs of the processing plants. Rains helped to loosen the soil up for harvest. Harvest of dry beans continued. Farmers increased the pace of winter wheat planting with recent rains and the early harvest of soybean acres. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple harvest continued throughout the State. In the southwest, the pace quickened with growers picking Empire and Jonagold varieties. In the west central, Gala and Spy harvest was wrapping up. Growers have started picking Golden and Red Delicious. McIntosh and Gala harvest continued in the northwest. Honeycrisp harvest was completed. Grape harvest was moving quickly in the southwest. Vegetables Many vegetable crops harvest neared completion across the State. Carrot harvest was well underway. Celery and onion harvest continued. Pepper harvest was completed. Potato harvest was in full swing. Pumpkin harvest moved along. Snap bean and sweet corn harvests neared completion. Squash, cucumber, and zucchini were still being harvested. Harvest of tomatoes for processing was almost wrapped up, while fresh market harvest continued. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/25/05 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 17 31 47 5 Subsoil : 25 43 30 2 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/25/05 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 6 17 30 39 8 Corn : 2 7 26 46 19 Dry beans : 0 6 24 57 13 Pasture : 12 32 39 16 1 Soybeans : 5 10 34 37 14 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/25/05 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 85 81 80 83 All hay, fourth cutting : 35 30 27 23 Apples, harvested : 35 25 29 NA Corn, mature : 77 52 25 36 Corn, harvested : 8 6 1 3 Corn silage, harvested : 90 81 48 60 Dry beans, harvested : 57 48 50 41 Potatoes, harvested : 51 37 36 NA Soybeans, dropping leaves : 91 79 36 54 Soybeans, harvested : 19 8 4 5 Sugarbeets, harvested : 3 1 1 1 Winter wheat, planted : 19 9 25 21 Winter wheat, emerged : 1 NA 3 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Contact Information U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Michigan Field 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 09/25/05 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 : 81 30 2,351 1,713 1.22 1.47 1.56 14.03 Marquette : 78 38 2,247 1,694 2.10 3.08 3.17 15.50 Stephenson : 86 36 2,454 2,025 0.91 1.24 1.31 10.27 Western UP : 86 30 5 2,346 1,759 1,879 1.19 1.72 1.80 13.35 19.45 3.58 : Cornell : 81 40 2,351 1,815 1.21 1.67 1.69 10.64 Sault St Marie : 77 42 2,225 1,559 1.43 1.88 2.16 12.54 Eastern UP : 81 33 6 2,219 1,593 1,664 1.37 1.71 2.22 12.68 18.40 3.55 : Beulah : 81 46 2,684 2,120 1.55 2.68 4.50 17.70 Lake City : 84 39 2,420 2,052 2.26 2.41 3.09 16.91 Old Mission : 82 49 2,538 2,043 1.25 1.57 1.88 13.23 Pellston : 82 31 2,478 1,933 1.17 1.58 1.68 13.53 Northwest : 84 31 7 2,496 1,983 2,147 1.36 1.93 2.57 15.42 17.46 3.66 : Alpena : 81 34 2,378 2,017 1.62 1.80 1.86 14.83 Houghton Lake : 83 37 2,509 2,163 2.24 2.25 2.47 12.69 Rogers City : 84 36 2,406 2,030 1.42 1.65 1.82 16.58 Northeast : 84 34 6 2,441 2,046 2,076 1.50 1.76 1.96 15.59 17.37 3.47 : Fremont : 82 46 2,823 2,383 0.22 0.54 0.63 7.52 Hart : 83 46 2,710 2,229 1.23 1.53 1.80 12.71 Muskegon : 79 50 2,918 2,413 2.15 2.99 3.04 10.80 West Central : 83 44 8 2,789 2,302 2,345 1.26 1.67 1.85 10.98 17.58 3.19 : Alma : 87 47 2,810 2,511 0.57 0.91 0.91 11.67 Big Rapids : 87 47 2,705 2,332 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.62 Central : 87 47 7 2,756 2,417 2,420 0.60 0.94 0.94 10.19 18.32 3.09 : Bad Axe : 87 44 2,785 2,319 3.81 4.40 4.90 17.01 Pigeon : 87 42 2,591 2,295 2.07 2.09 2.25 11.85 Saginaw : 89 48 2,782 2,519 3.91 4.21 4.62 17.47 Standish : 86 41 2,637 2,261 3.53 3.80 4.28 19.19 East Central : 89 40 6 2,690 2,358 2,428 2.71 2.99 3.35 15.39 16.36 2.70 : Fennville : 84 51 2,895 2,467 0.23 0.70 0.70 6.14 Grand Rapids : 85 50 3,040 2,749 1.65 3.01 3.04 19.33 Holland : 85 52 3,002 2,554 0.75 1.02 1.02 4.54 South Bend, IN : 88 54 3,224 2,901 0.91 2.32 2.34 12.17 Watervliet : 86 54 3,080 2,638 0.66 1.65 1.66 10.66 Southwest : 90 50 10 3,021 2,641 2,646 0.72 1.59 1.60 10.43 18.86 3.26 : Belding : 84 48 2,775 2,491 1.97 2.95 2.96 15.35 Coldwater : 86 51 2,898 2,596 1.33 2.10 2.22 14.24 Lansing : 86 49 3,060 2,615 1.45 2.28 2.36 17.22 South Central : 92 47 6 2,952 2,630 2,598 1.45 2.06 2.13 13.45 18.51 2.79 : Detroit : 88 54 3,250 2,920 0.88 1.26 1.36 13.55 Flint : 86 47 2,910 2,662 4.35 4.61 4.99 16.16 Romeo : 85 47 2,874 2,633 2.37 3.16 3.27 15.58 Tipton : 86 51 2,972 2,619 1.47 2.61 2.64 15.55 Toledo, OH : 88 52 3,181 2,963 1.65 2.67 3.09 13.89 Southeast : 88 47 6 2,987 2,744 2,598 2.07 2.92 3.06 15.85 17.63 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.