mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 25, 2006 Week Ending Date September 24, 2006 Issue MI-CW3806 Agricultural Summary Cool and Wet Four days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 24, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.74 inches in the central Lower Peninsula to 1.71 inches in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 4 degrees below normal in the southwest and south central Lower Peninsula to 1 degree below normal in the eastern Upper Peninsula and northeast Lower Peninsula. Cool, wet weather slowed crop progress. A farmer in the south central region mentioned that, "Nearly all corn has reached 'black layer', but it is too wet for grain harvest or high moisture corn. Most beans have lost their leaves but still need to dry down." A farmer in the southeast said that, "Mostly cool and wet conditions throughout the week. It was dry enough for a couple of days to harvest silage. Some are just getting started on grain harvest on early maturing corn." Field Crops Report Field Crops Cool, wet conditions limited harvest for most crops. Corn continued to mature, but wet conditions limited drying down. Silage harvest progressed slowly with the rains. There were reports that soybean fields have turned yellow very quickly and leaves were dropping rapidly. Third and fourth cuttings of hay were limited due to the rains. Many farmers have opted to chop the third crop instead of baling. Potato harvest continued. Dry bean harvest continued. Sugarbeet harvest was still on a limited basis. Winter wheat planting was underway. Recent rains will benefit winter wheat emergence. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple harvest continued. Jonathan and Golden Delicious varieties were harvested for the fresh market in the southwest. Growers in the southeast were waiting for a better flavor and higher starch index numbers before picking Cortland and Macoun apples. Peach and pear harvest ended in the southeast. Grape harvest progressed across the State. In the southeast, harvest was winding down with the exception of some late season wine grape varieties. Growers in the southwest noted trouble with bunch rot in wine grapes due to wet weather conditions. Grape berry moth populations were high in the southeast and northwest. Yellow jackets and paper wasps started to feed in northwestern vineyards, where cool, cloudy, and rainy weather significantly slowed fruit maturation throughout September. Vegetables Cooler temperatures and precipitation persisted as harvest of several vegetable crops neared completion across the State. Carrot harvest continued. Harvest continued for celery and onion crops. Pumpkin harvest was underway with reports of very good crops in some areas. Harvest of winter squash progressed. Watermelon harvest continued. Tomato harvest for processing continued, while fresh market harvest was completed in the southeast. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/24/06 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 0 8 80 12 Subsoil : 2 19 76 3 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/24/06 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 2 12 35 40 11 Corn : 0 4 20 56 20 Dry beans : 0 7 22 59 12 Pasture : 1 9 41 42 7 Soybeans : 1 4 23 53 19 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/24/06 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 93 89 84 84 All hay, fourth cutting : 28 24 34 25 Apples, harvested : 37 21 34 NA Corn, dent : 95 92 99 86 Corn, mature : 64 41 73 44 Corn, harvested : 3 1 8 4 Corn silage, harvested : 81 67 89 67 Dry beans, harvested : 69 33 56 45 Peaches, harvested : 89 85 98 99 Potatoes, harvested : 44 38 49 NA Soybeans, turning leaves : 91 74 100 87 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 55 35 89 61 Soybeans, harvested : 5 0 17 7 Sugarbeets, harvested : 3 NA 3 NA Winter wheat, planted : 13 1 18 19 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 09/24/06 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2006 :2005 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 63 32 2,213 2,336 1.45 1.85 2.40 15.25 Marquette : 64 35 2,035 2,245 1.45 1.74 2.21 16.38 Stephenson : 75 29 2,312 2,444 1.75 2.20 3.18 15.07 Western UP : 75 29 -3 2,179 2,311 1,873 1.44 1.88 2.48 16.06 19.36 3.58 : Cornell : 73 34 2,217 2,345 2.01 2.42 3.45 18.54 Sault St Marie : 70 40 2,098 2,214 1.85 2.62 2.88 12.79 Eastern UP : 73 32 -1 2,079 2,185 1,658 1.71 2.12 2.64 16.55 18.32 3.55 : Beulah : 73 41 2,425 2,673 1.12 2.90 3.25 20.62 Lake City : 72 34 2,260 2,410 0.93 2.44 2.85 23.64 Old Mission : 73 40 2,361 2,533 1.39 2.10 2.35 12.66 Pellston : 75 29 2,315 2,464 1.50 2.11 2.18 14.18 Northwest : 75 29 -2 2,287 2,475 2,139 1.15 2.21 2.51 17.39 17.35 3.66 : Alpena : 74 38 2,356 2,362 1.28 2.24 2.62 17.67 Houghton Lake : 71 41 2,344 2,493 0.78 3.09 3.46 18.18 Rogers City : 73 38 2,306 2,453 1.28 2.63 3.06 13.12 Northeast : 74 32 -1 2,337 2,438 2,068 1.21 2.60 3.00 16.81 17.27 3.47 : Fremont : 70 37 2,597 2,801 1.65 3.42 3.81 18.66 Hart : 68 37 2,446 2,691 0.87 2.26 2.51 19.73 Muskegon : 70 41 2,665 2,897 0.88 2.23 3.10 17.19 West Central : 70 32 -2 2,538 2,758 2,336 1.07 2.61 3.08 17.13 17.46 3.19 : Alma : 71 41 2,635 2,767 0.88 2.40 2.70 19.66 Big Rapids : 71 41 2,503 2,620 0.33 1.85 2.10 19.98 Central : 71 38 -2 2,584 2,685 2,410 0.74 2.26 2.58 19.69 18.24 3.09 : Bad Axe : 73 41 2,529 2,769 1.29 2.67 2.98 16.86 Pigeon : 72 39 2,485 2,574 0.68 2.10 2.56 14.69 Saginaw : 72 39 2,687 2,766 1.08 1.87 2.13 19.07 Standish : 70 35 2,457 2,520 1.12 3.18 3.61 20.52 East Central : 73 35 -2 2,509 2,681 2,418 1.04 2.40 2.80 18.00 16.29 2.70 : Fennville : 71 40 2,569 2,875 1.97 3.12 4.15 17.82 Grand Rapids : 72 41 2,840 3,019 2.84 4.41 5.37 21.90 Holland : 73 43 2,834 2,983 1.84 2.44 3.29 10.78 South Bend, IN : 72 38 2,905 3,203 0.61 2.29 5.12 26.59 Watervliet : 71 40 2,788 3,060 1.37 2.46 3.90 17.73 Southwest : 73 38 -4 2,755 2,988 2,634 1.44 2.36 3.59 17.47 18.76 3.26 : Belding : 72 37 2,595 2,756 1.40 2.90 3.78 17.20 Coldwater : 71 37 2,665 2,895 0.76 1.95 2.93 17.22 Lansing : 73 40 2,744 3,037 1.05 2.47 3.33 18.47 South Central : 73 36 -4 2,718 2,953 2,587 0.79 1.70 2.44 17.18 18.43 2.79 : Detroit : 73 40 3,062 3,228 0.64 1.35 2.44 18.73 Flint : 73 36 2,643 2,887 1.22 2.21 3.14 21.18 Romeo : 74 41 2,783 2,830 1.48 3.36 4.44 20.10 Tipton : 73 34 2,737 2,954 0.91 1.89 2.75 18.75 Toledo, OH : 72 37 3,036 3,159 0.90 1.84 2.68 22.95 Southeast : 74 32 -3 2,784 3,013 2,587 0.98 2.17 3.28 20.52 17.57 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.