mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 15, 2008 Week Ending Date September 14, 2008 Issue MI-CW3708 Agricultural Summary Heavy Rains Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 14, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation varied from 0.97 inches in the northwestern Lower Peninsula to 6.13 inches in the southwestern Lower Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 3 degrees below normal in the western Upper Peninsula to normal in the west central and southeastern Lower Peninsula. Growers in the northeast and east central experienced the first frost of the season, but it had little impact on the crops. Much of the State experienced heavy rains over this past weekend. These rains brought fieldwork to a halt and caused some localized flooding in the southern part of the State. A grower in the southeast stated, "Soil has quickly become saturated and more rain will be ponding in fields and bringing up levels of ditches and streams. This will bring the water table back up to normal or above normal conditions and may cause problems come harvest time." Many farmers who were eager to begin harvest and planting activities must now wait for fields to dry. "Sugarbeet harvest was going to start today, but that will not happen. It will take several days of clear weather to get back into the fields," a farmer in the east central reported. Field Crops Report Field Crops Strong rains and wet soils impeded fieldwork this past week. The benefit from the rain depended on a crop's stage of development. Most of the corn crop was in the dough and dent stages. The condition improved slightly, but because the crop was close to maturity, the improvement from rains was limited. Many soybeans turned this week and some were dropping leaves. Regrowth of alfalfa was boosted by the recent rains, but harvest was held up by the precipitation. A few farmers were getting a fourth cutting, but most were cutting for a third time. Dry beans continued to turn and drop leaves. Harvest of the crop continued before the rains came. Winter wheat planting began, with a few farmers planting before the rains. Rains held up the sugarbeet harvest. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple harvest continued across the State. In the southwest, picking of Gala and Golden Supreme varieties continued; light picking of McIntosh and Honeycrisp varieties began in the southeast. Harvest of Gingergold apple varieties began in the northwest. Harvest of late season blueberries was completed; fruit quality was a concern. Harvest of peaches, pears, plums and fall raspberries continued. Vegetables The rain received last week was welcomed as it relieved stressed plants. It may have been too late to benefit most crops, while it postponed harvesting and fieldwork. Nearly 40 percent of the celery acreage remained to harvest, and rains have flooded some fields. Carrot harvest continued and pumpkin harvest began. Fresh market tomato harvest continued with below average yields. Processing tomatoes from non-irrigated fields have less than a 50 percent crop due to the lack of summer rainfall. Onion harvest was nearing completion. Sweet corn and potato harvest continued. Zucchini harvest was expected to be mostly complete by the end of last week, but with the additional moisture, farmers delayed harvesting activities. Cucumber and summer squash harvest continued. Cole crops, including cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli, have made it to retail markets. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/14/08 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 7 7 46 40 Subsoil : 12 16 45 27 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/14/08 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 7 14 34 37 8 Corn : 7 14 29 35 15 Dry beans : 9 5 22 49 15 Pasture : 13 28 31 24 4 Soybeans : 9 16 30 35 10 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/14/08 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 72 69 76 78 All hay, fourth cutting : 19 10 15 17 Apples, harvested : 18 15 24 NA Blueberries, harvested : 99 94 100 99 Corn, dough : 93 90 99 93 Corn, dent : 78 68 83 71 Corn, mature : 16 10 38 23 Corn silage, harvested : 41 23 55 41 Dry beans, turning leaves : 81 69 93 95 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 51 21 68 73 Dry beans, harvested : 16 6 29 23 Peaches, harvested : 78 57 99 NA Potatoes, harvested : 34 30 34 NA Soybeans, turning leaves : 70 44 57 59 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 28 11 21 25 Winter wheat, planted : 2 0 2 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 09/14/08 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 : 72 37 1,725 2,157 1.72 2.55 3.02 15.53 Marquette : 72 36 1,637 2,046 2.52 2.90 3.06 16.98 Stephenson : 74 35 2,021 2,313 1.44 2.11 2.42 17.13 Western UP : 74 27 -3 1,759 2,148 1,801 1.58 2.33 2.75 15.26 18.17 3.58 : Cornell : 75 35 1,927 2,215 1.41 1.91 2.29 14.95 Sault St Marie : 70 41 1,693 2,009 1.22 2.31 3.25 15.53 Eastern UP : 75 34 -1 1,689 2,026 1,590 1.27 2.35 2.87 15.97 16.99 3.55 : Beulah : 74 41 2,202 2,404 1.17 2.49 2.83 19.88 Lake City : 83 34 2,080 2,270 1.51 3.20 5.42 23.62 Old Mission : 74 40 2,111 2,305 1.24 2.49 3.06 13.26 Pellston : 72 32 1,983 2,204 0.67 1.83 2.98 16.58 Northwest : 83 32 -2 2,041 2,252 2,044 0.97 2.37 3.29 17.17 16.00 3.66 : Alpena : 71 35 2,062 2,263 1.00 3.37 3.64 17.64 Houghton Lake : 72 32 2,124 2,272 1.07 2.75 5.38 20.66 Rogers City : 70 34 2,002 2,306 1.29 3.24 4.41 20.30 Northeast : 75 30 -2 2,059 2,258 1,979 1.26 3.29 4.63 19.77 16.00 3.47 : Fremont : 75 40 2,312 2,510 2.04 4.56 5.03 17.67 Hart : 74 40 2,195 2,400 1.19 3.09 3.91 18.98 Muskegon : 76 43 2,334 2,599 2.97 6.50 6.74 19.33 West Central : 76 34 0 2,246 2,459 2,229 1.95 4.27 4.70 20.12 16.30 3.19 : Alma : 75 42 2,428 2,629 4.89 7.60 8.88 18.28 Big Rapids : 76 37 2,301 2,354 1.31 3.34 4.38 16.56 Central : 76 37 -1 2,340 2,488 2,301 2.86 5.16 6.30 17.09 17.12 3.09 : Bad Axe : 76 43 2,338 2,474 3.39 3.96 5.62 22.67 Pigeon : 76 41 2,240 2,373 2.51 4.07 5.21 16.11 Saginaw : 78 42 2,474 2,632 3.06 4.21 5.00 18.58 Standish : 77 36 2,191 2,370 2.22 4.59 6.14 20.04 East Central : 78 36 -1 2,290 2,466 2,303 3.30 4.46 5.80 19.22 15.16 2.70 : Fennville : 78 42 2,345 2,560 6.34 9.63 9.83 27.27 Grand Rapids : 77 46 2,675 2,890 5.13 9.21 9.68 25.71 Holland : 78 44 2,704 2,806 5.05 7.53 7.57 25.60 South Bend, IN : 83 44 2,754 3,006 11.92 13.71 14.98 26.59 Watervliet : 78 44 2,523 2,756 6.12 8.79 9.31 24.06 Southwest : 83 37 -1 2,553 2,747 2,504 6.13 8.78 9.26 25.45 17.53 3.26 : Belding : 75 41 2,368 2,524 5.56 5.76 6.56 17.08 Coldwater : 80 40 2,525 2,606 7.37 7.82 8.51 20.83 Lansing : 75 42 2,586 2,700 6.46 7.39 7.78 19.90 South Central : 82 40 -1 2,484 2,646 2,462 5.85 7.19 7.89 20.60 17.35 2.79 : Detroit : 83 48 2,862 2,940 4.58 5.86 5.99 16.51 Flint : 74 38 2,623 2,665 5.70 7.69 8.49 20.29 Romeo : 79 43 2,485 2,617 5.54 7.89 8.41 20.61 Tipton : 78 45 2,567 2,654 5.92 6.25 6.45 22.48 Toledo, OH : 87 46 2,829 2,875 3.41 3.62 3.84 19.58 Southeast : 87 38 0 2,589 2,713 2,459 4.99 5.98 6.40 20.47 16.63 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.