mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 5, 2008 Week Ending Date May~4, 2008 Issue MI-CW1808 Agricultural Summary Frosty Mornings Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 4, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation varied from 0.30 inches in the south central Lower Peninsula to 1.33 inches in the western Upper Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 7 degrees below normal in the western Upper Peninsula to 2 degrees below normal in the southeastern Lower Peninsula. Several cold nights this week resulted in frosty mornings. There have been some reports of damage, particularly to the fruit crops. Cooler temperatures have also slowed the emergence of field crops. Farmers in the northern regions were still anticipating warm weather in order to begin planting operations. A farmer stated, "freezing temperatures have delayed planting." Farmers in some regions of the State are hoping for rain. "The surface ground is very dry. Emergence is very sporadic and we need a good rain," another farmer reported. Field Crops Report Field Crops Temperatures this week were cooler but excellent for planting. Crops were mostly in fair to good condition with some reports of frost damage. Damage to many crops have yet to be determined. Corn planting was progressing at a rapid pace now that fields have begun to dry, while farmers in the north were still waiting for warmer soils. Many farmers concentrated on corn before planting other crops. Sugarbeet planting was nearing completion in most areas, with early plantings just beginning to emerge. Frost damage has occurred in selected areas and replanting of destroyed sugarbeets took place. A small amount of soybeans were planted, and many farmers expected to plant in the coming week. Winter wheat generally looked good, although there were reports of frost damage, especially in the Thumb region. Barley planting was behind average for this time of year. Planting of oats progressed as expected. Alfalfa developed rapidly this past week with stands of six to ten inches, though some frost damage were observed. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Temperatures in the mid to upper twenties during the week caused light to moderate damage to some fruit crops in all regions. Damage varied widely according to fruit crop development. Growers continue to assess frost damage and crop potential. Apples were at late pink stage in the southwest and southeast and at tight cluster in the northwest and west central. In early apple varieties, king blooms were lost due to the freezing temperatures in some areas. Apricots were in shuck in the southwest and first bloom in the northwest. Pears were in bloom in the southwest and early white bud in the west central. Peaches were in bloom. Sweet and tart cherries were in full bloom across the State. Plums were in bloom in the west central. Strawberry flower clusters emerged. Blueberries were at pink bud, and early varieties began to bloom. Grape buds were open. Juice grapes were at bud burst and wine grapes followed behind at late bud swell. Vegetables Light precipitation last week was welcomed by growers but hindered fieldwork and planting. Freezing temperatures have delayed potato plantings in the northwest. Rhubarb has started growing. Asparagus harvest began early last week with some loss to the freeze but most growers picked all the spears that were up in the southwest. Limited amounts of tomatoes, cucumbers and squash have been planted on plastic and under tunnels. Celery growers were busy raising transplant seedings in the greenhouses and placing them in fields. Rains in the west central have been ideal for germinating carrots which were progressing well. In the west central, onion planting was nearing completion and early planted fields were emerging. Early cabbage was well established. There were no reports of insect problems in any vegetable crops. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/04/08 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 4 19 72 5 Subsoil : 0 10 81 9 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/04/08 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Oats : 1 1 26 54 18 Pasture : 1 10 27 50 12 Winter Wheat : 1 4 17 64 14 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/04/08 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Barley, planted : 16 10 33 53 Barley, emerged : 3 1 7 20 Corn, planted : 41 12 25 38 Corn, emerged : 1 0 1 2 Oats, planted : 74 50 67 79 Oats, emerged : 35 5 25 39 Potatoes, planted : 31 22 24 24 Potatoes, emerged : 10 0 1 NA Soybeans, planted : 8 1 6 11 Sugarbeets, planted : 95 85 84 94 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 05/04/08 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2008 :2007 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 63 25 78 134 1.26 1.88 5.14 5.42 Marquette : 59 22 64 107 1.02 1.18 5.58 6.19 Stephenson : 56 19 105 150 1.47 2.02 5.51 5.80 Western UP : 65 17 -7 82 123 96 1.33 1.82 5.09 5.39 2.68 3.37 : Cornell : 59 26 85 138 0.71 0.94 3.92 3.92 Sault St Marie : 63 27 96 114 0.54 1.74 4.09 4.16 Eastern UP : 63 18 -4 80 113 50 0.69 1.09 3.66 3.91 2.83 3.01 : Beulah : 71 29 189 146 1.42 3.55 5.27 5.27 Lake City : 63 21 175 121 0.71 2.17 3.98 3.98 Old Mission : 64 30 168 126 1.29 2.35 4.17 4.67 Pellston : 63 22 160 141 0.82 1.92 3.48 3.49 Northwest : 71 21 -4 170 127 120 1.09 2.63 4.27 4.46 3.05 2.61 : Alpena : 70 24 170 126 0.82 1.09 2.83 2.86 Houghton Lake : 65 24 184 136 0.74 1.39 3.01 3.01 Rogers City : 66 24 171 110 0.81 1.38 3.10 3.16 Northeast : 70 23 -3 177 132 108 0.80 1.35 3.10 3.14 2.99 2.76 : Fremont : 69 22 201 165 0.51 1.67 3.71 3.91 Hart : 69 22 198 150 0.58 2.67 4.66 5.38 Muskegon : 71 25 191 154 0.61 1.41 2.96 3.16 West Central : 71 22 -5 199 156 146 0.53 1.92 3.85 4.26 3.47 2.67 : Alma : 71 26 225 170 0.49 0.76 2.86 3.00 Big Rapids : 71 24 206 139 0.85 2.61 3.19 3.20 Central : 71 22 -3 207 155 162 0.62 1.42 2.74 2.84 3.48 2.79 : Bad Axe : 72 26 221 126 0.73 0.80 2.25 2.26 Pigeon : 71 26 212 120 0.54 0.64 1.77 1.80 Saginaw : 73 27 224 157 0.27 0.40 1.68 1.82 Standish : 68 22 195 145 0.42 0.87 2.40 2.40 East Central : 76 20 -3 204 139 155 0.49 0.64 2.10 2.21 2.90 2.63 : Fennville : 72 24 215 169 0.58 0.88 2.94 3.13 Grand Rapids : 72 26 246 178 0.49 0.93 3.81 3.98 Holland : 73 26 265 200 0.80 1.61 2.30 2.53 South Bend, IN : 75 27 264 233 0.61 1.00 2.55 2.75 Watervliet : 73 26 234 189 0.79 1.24 3.34 3.56 Southwest : 76 22 -4 245 190 184 0.80 1.33 3.43 3.67 3.69 3.01 : Belding : 71 21 218 160 0.59 0.95 3.26 3.52 Coldwater : 71 23 231 179 0.28 0.47 2.12 2.32 Lansing : 73 26 247 171 0.20 0.33 2.15 2.33 South Central : 77 21 -4 234 178 185 0.30 0.52 2.24 2.45 3.43 2.92 : Detroit : 72 31 268 202 0.41 0.47 1.12 1.23 Flint : 74 24 274 170 0.57 0.59 1.87 2.11 Romeo : 66 27 217 170 0.60 0.73 1.54 1.79 Tipton : 73 26 236 196 0.47 0.60 1.31 1.47 Toledo, OH : 77 31 253 212 0.62 0.62 1.68 2.25 Southeast : 77 23 -2 245 190 171 0.55 0.65 1.66 1.89 3.43 2.85 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.