mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 29, 2008 Week Ending Date September 28, 2008 Issue MI-CW3908 Agricultural Summary Warm and Dry Seven days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 28, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation varied from none in the west central, east central, southwestern, south central, and southeastern Lower Peninsula to 0.24 inches in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 5 degrees above normal in the east central and southeastern Lower Peninsula to 9 degrees above normal in the western Upper Peninsula and the west central and northwestern Lower Peninsula. Temperatures were above average and ideal for farm activities. Warm, sunny days were welcomed and helped to mature field crops and to provide good harvest and wheat planting conditions. "It was a good week for farmwork. Very mild temperatures, light winds and no rain. Wheat planting moved into high gear and apple harvest continued with many varieties almost finished," a farmer in the west central reported. "We are winding up silo filling and wheat and rye planting. We needed this week's heat and sunshine as corn and beans are maturing slowly," a reporter in the northwest stated. Field Crops Report Field Crops Conditions were ideal for harvest and planting of field crops. Corn continued to mature. Harvest was just beginning in a few areas, but there were reports that the crop will need some time to dry down before harvest. Silage harvest continued. The leaves of the soybean plants have all but turned, and the majority have dropped. Harvest was underway. Alfalfa harvest continued with farmers getting a third or fourth cutting. For some, the potential for a fourth cutting may not be achieved due to slow regrowth. The dry bean crop has turned leaves and many of the plants have shed leaves. Harvest continued at a rate much behind normal. The weather was great for winter wheat planting this week. Sugarbeet harvest continued. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple harvest continued across the State. In the southeast, growers completed harvest of Honeycrisp and McIntosh varieties. Harvest began for Redcort, Empire, Jonathan, and Jonagold varieties with spot picking. In the southwest, Golden Delicious and Red Delicious harvest began; size and quality were excellent. Harvest of the Gingergold variety continued in the northwest. Harvest of fall raspberries continued. Niagara and wine grape harvest continued in the southwest. Vegetables Conditions improved for vegetables as soils dried, allowing for field operations to commence. Late vegetables looked good where growers were able to irrigate earlier in the summer. Pumpkins and winter squash were mostly harvested in all areas. Tomato harvest was coming to a close. Yields were down on most fields due to dry conditions in the summer. Harvesting of processing tomatoes was winding down. Carrot and onion harvest continued. Potato harvest was in full swing. Most of the crop was slow to mature with the cool weather. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/28/08 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 3 16 76 5 Subsoil : 6 17 68 9 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/28/08 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 6 9 25 51 9 Corn : 9 13 29 33 16 Dry beans : 7 8 40 37 8 Pasture : 14 18 33 30 5 Soybeans : 10 16 34 31 9 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/28/08 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 81 77 88 88 All hay, fourth cutting : 25 24 32 28 Apples, harvested : 37 26 51 NA Corn, dent : 96 89 99 92 Corn, mature : 59 34 83 61 Corn, harvested : 3 NA 10 6 Corn silage, harvested : 75 56 90 79 Dry beans, turning leaves : 100 90 100 100 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 81 77 97 99 Dry beans, harvested : 31 19 71 67 Peaches, harvested : 99 94 100 NA Potatoes, harvested : 44 38 50 NA Soybeans, turning leaves : 97 89 94 92 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 80 58 70 70 Soybeans, harvested : 9 2 8 11 Sugarbeets, harvested : 6 3 12 5 Winter wheat, planted : 13 3 39 28 Winter wheat, emerged : 1 NA 5 3 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 09/28/08 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 : 81 39 1,902 2,324 0.38 0.38 2.93 16.00 Marquette : 79 41 1,788 2,208 0.15 0.15 3.05 17.13 Stephenson : 82 39 2,190 2,481 0.10 0.12 2.23 17.25 Western UP : 82 31 9 1,915 2,304 1,897 0.22 0.23 2.55 15.50 19.76 3.58 : Cornell : 79 39 2,078 2,370 0.09 0.09 1.82 14.86 Sault St Marie : 74 46 1,827 2,161 0.08 0.09 2.40 15.62 Eastern UP : 79 35 7 1,816 2,174 1,679 0.24 0.25 2.70 16.28 18.71 3.55 : Beulah : 82 48 2,394 2,601 0.05 0.05 2.54 19.91 Lake City : 77 41 2,245 2,434 0.08 0.08 3.28 23.70 Old Mission : 82 47 2,285 2,497 0.00 0.00 2.49 13.26 Pellston : 80 38 2,135 2,391 0.00 0.00 1.83 16.58 Northwest : 82 38 9 2,204 2,433 2,169 0.03 0.03 2.45 17.26 17.76 3.66 : Alpena : 82 40 2,218 2,454 0.29 0.29 3.66 17.93 Houghton Lake : 78 39 2,291 2,455 0.00 0.01 2.76 20.67 Rogers City : 80 42 2,126 2,474 0.15 0.21 3.45 19.08 Northeast : 82 39 7 2,211 2,440 2,097 0.12 0.19 3.48 19.73 17.68 3.47 : Fremont : 80 47 2,492 2,710 0.00 0.01 4.57 17.68 Hart : 81 50 2,378 2,589 0.00 0.01 3.10 18.99 Muskegon : 80 52 2,536 2,811 0.00 0.00 6.50 19.33 West Central : 81 42 9 2,433 2,658 2,371 0.00 0.01 4.28 20.13 17.85 3.19 : Alma : 82 46 2,605 2,828 0.02 0.02 7.62 18.30 Big Rapids : 82 44 2,488 2,534 0.00 0.00 3.34 18.16 Central : 82 43 8 2,519 2,681 2,446 0.01 0.01 5.17 17.50 18.65 3.09 : Bad Axe : 82 44 2,499 2,672 0.00 0.00 3.96 22.25 Pigeon : 83 40 2,400 2,576 0.00 0.18 4.25 16.29 Saginaw : 83 45 2,664 2,845 0.00 0.01 4.22 18.59 Standish : 81 41 2,352 2,563 0.00 0.05 4.64 20.09 East Central : 83 40 5 2,454 2,667 2,456 0.00 0.10 4.56 19.26 16.63 2.70 : Fennville : 81 47 2,541 2,769 0.00 0.10 9.73 27.37 Grand Rapids : 81 50 2,882 3,126 0.00 0.00 9.21 25.71 Holland : 83 49 2,910 3,030 0.00 0.00 7.91 25.98 South Bend, IN : 83 47 2,980 3,252 0.00 0.00 13.71 26.59 Watervliet : 82 47 2,730 2,974 0.00 0.16 8.95 24.22 Southwest : 84 45 7 2,760 2,967 2,677 0.00 0.10 9.19 25.80 19.19 3.26 : Belding : 82 44 2,554 2,726 0.00 0.04 5.80 17.12 Coldwater : 85 42 2,739 2,817 0.00 0.00 7.82 21.03 Lansing : 82 45 2,770 2,914 0.00 0.00 7.39 19.90 South Central : 85 42 6 2,673 2,850 2,629 0.00 0.01 7.67 21.09 18.84 2.79 : Detroit : 79 53 3,072 3,169 0.00 0.00 5.86 16.51 Flint : 81 44 2,796 2,880 0.00 0.00 7.69 20.29 Romeo : 81 46 2,661 2,834 0.00 0.00 6.67 19.39 Tipton : 82 51 2,767 2,874 0.00 0.01 6.26 22.49 Toledo, OH : 83 49 3,035 3,115 0.00 0.00 3.62 19.58 Southeast : 88 42 5 2,778 2,930 2,628 0.00 0.02 5.83 20.36 17.90 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.