mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 19, 2008 Week Ending Date May~18, 2008 Issue MI-CW2008 Agricultural Summary Soils Remained Cool Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 18, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation varied from 0.23 inches in the central Lower Peninsula to 0.61 inches in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 5 degrees below normal in the east central and southwest Lower Peninsula to 2 degrees below normal in the western and eastern Upper Peninsula and the northwestern Lower Peninsula. A cool, dry week allowed for planting and other farm operations to proceed, but emergence of planted crops was hampered as a result of cool soils. A farmer stated, "Planting has continued at a good pace, although crops have been very slow to emerge due to the cool conditions." The colder regions of the State received frost a few days last week. "Still very cold nights with frost almost every morning, warming late in the day," a farmer in the northern Lower Peninsula reported. Field Crops Report Field Crops Across the State, cool soils hindered germination and emergence of planted crops. Corn planting was wrapping up while early planted fields emerged. Soybeans were being planted and some were just beginning to emerge. Sugarbeets were for the most part emerged. Winter wheat generally looked good and was in Feeke's growth stage 6 to 9. There were some reports of powdery mildew due to damp conditions. Alfalfa benefited from the weather with stands of 12 to 18 inches. Light frost damage was reported. Barley planting was behind average for this time of year. Oats were planted for the most part, with about three-fourths emerged. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Below normal temperatures kept insect activity low. Despite the cool weather, growing degree day totals were still 5 to 6 days ahead of average. Wet conditions were less than ideal for pesticide applications. In southern regions, apples were at petal fall to 8 mm in fruit diameter; in northern regions, they were in bloom to petal fall. The apple scab infection period was unusually long. Pears were in green cluster in the northwest. Peaches were at shuck split; growers were thinning fruit. Sweet cherries were at early petal fall in the northwest and at pit hardening in the southwest and east. Tart cherries were in early bloom in the northwest and at shuck split in the southwest. Plums were in early bloom to shuck split. Strawberries were in bloom in the southwest and east. Blueberries were in early to full bloom. Grapes were at bud burst in the northwest. Freeze damage to juice and early season wine grapes in the southwest was quite varied. Late season wine grapes escaped damage. Vegetables Temperatures have stayed cool with a light frost towards the end of the week, but there was no damage to vegetation. Asparagus harvest continued at a slow pace due to weather, and spears were sandy because of the recent rains. Purple spot was evident in some fields. Celery planting continued on schedule. Growers who used row covers were beginning to remove them. Squash and cucumbers were being directly seeded, and plants under tunnels were growing slowly. Carrot planting was mostly finished with a few processors stretching out their planting dates longer than usual. Predicted frost early last week did not materialize, and tomato growers who had one-third of the crop planted were relieved. Established potatoes, peas, and green beans were reportedly doing well. Also, many onion fields have emerged. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/18/08 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 1 14 76 9 Subsoil : 1 7 83 9 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/18/08 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 4 33 45 17 Oats : 1 1 26 62 10 Pasture : 1 5 31 48 15 Winter Wheat : 1 4 23 59 13 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/18/08 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Asparagus, harvested : 38 13 38 34 Barley, planted : 58 32 86 81 Barley, emerged : 21 8 58 57 Corn, planted : 84 70 74 70 Corn, emerged : 34 12 33 31 Oats, planted : 96 82 94 95 Oats, emerged : 74 48 69 79 Potatoes, planted : 51 47 53 NA Potatoes, emerged : 27 25 19 NA Soybeans, planted : 51 32 31 39 Soybeans, emerged : 7 2 7 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 05/18/08 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 : 70 25 142 263 0.31 0.56 2.44 5.98 Marquette : 68 33 123 220 0.23 0.72 1.90 6.91 Stephenson : 72 33 208 298 0.49 0.85 2.87 6.65 Western UP : 72 25 -2 155 249 187 0.30 0.58 2.23 5.80 4.12 3.37 : Cornell : 64 34 136 252 0.62 1.04 1.98 4.96 Sault St Marie : 63 32 147 217 0.78 1.22 2.96 5.38 Eastern UP : 68 13 -2 130 220 116 0.61 1.08 2.16 4.98 4.27 3.01 : Beulah : 74 35 285 280 0.77 1.10 4.65 6.37 Lake City : 68 29 266 259 0.32 0.45 2.62 4.43 Old Mission : 74 33 247 256 0.47 0.53 2.88 5.20 Pellston : 75 28 248 273 0.52 0.82 2.74 4.31 Northwest : 75 28 -2 254 257 224 0.54 0.71 3.33 5.16 4.25 2.61 : Alpena : 66 30 246 256 0.41 0.64 1.73 3.50 Houghton Lake : 69 29 277 284 0.24 0.29 1.68 3.30 Rogers City : 69 30 258 238 0.38 0.55 1.93 3.71 Northeast : 71 29 -3 265 269 209 0.34 0.50 1.85 3.64 4.25 2.76 : Fremont : 70 33 313 331 0.20 0.37 2.04 4.28 Hart : 73 32 303 298 0.24 0.27 2.94 5.65 Muskegon : 73 36 289 311 0.12 0.49 1.90 3.65 West Central : 75 30 -3 307 313 263 0.29 0.57 2.48 4.83 4.71 2.67 : Alma : 71 35 316 341 0.22 0.40 0.93 3.17 Big Rapids : 71 32 322 303 0.32 0.54 3.15 3.74 Central : 71 32 -3 313 322 290 0.23 0.47 1.83 3.25 4.80 2.79 : Bad Axe : 70 35 309 256 0.28 0.74 1.54 3.00 Pigeon : 71 34 303 243 0.48 0.74 1.38 2.54 Saginaw : 71 37 337 318 0.23 0.71 1.11 2.53 Standish : 70 30 285 300 0.36 0.83 1.70 3.23 East Central : 72 30 -5 295 282 275 0.31 0.79 1.43 3.00 4.16 2.63 : Fennville : 73 34 310 325 0.44 1.56 2.44 4.69 Grand Rapids : 71 38 366 369 0.30 0.97 1.90 4.95 Holland : 75 38 456 379 0.30 1.30 4.49 5.41 South Bend, IN : 72 36 384 431 0.82 2.17 3.17 4.92 Watervliet : 72 37 343 369 0.38 1.48 2.72 5.04 Southwest : 75 32 -5 364 371 317 0.42 1.41 2.81 5.15 5.22 3.01 : Belding : 70 33 323 332 0.30 0.71 1.66 4.23 Coldwater : 71 35 340 351 0.27 1.11 1.58 3.43 Lansing : 68 35 361 342 0.17 0.96 1.29 3.29 South Central : 86 33 -4 344 353 318 0.30 1.00 1.52 3.45 4.98 2.92 : Detroit : 73 40 389 374 0.33 1.18 1.65 2.41 Flint : 69 37 390 336 0.13 0.71 1.30 2.82 Romeo : 70 38 311 318 0.23 1.04 1.77 2.83 Tipton : 70 39 353 361 0.49 1.38 1.98 2.85 Toledo, OH : 69 37 372 394 0.49 1.65 2.27 3.90 Southeast : 73 37 -3 354 353 301 0.42 1.23 1.88 3.13 4.90 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.