mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 26, 2009 Week Ending Date May 24, 2009 Issue MI-CW2109 Agricultural Summary Windy and Warm Six days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 24, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation varied from 0.02 inches in the east central Lower Peninsula to 0.14 inches in the western Upper Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from normal in the western and eastern Upper Peninsula to 5 degrees above normal in the west central and southwest Lower Peninsula. Light winds and warm temperatures allowed soils to dry down enough for farmers to diligently work to get crops planted; there were a few wet spots in some low lying areas. A reporter in the west central commented, "We finally had a good week for field work. No rain for a change and a lot of soil drying took place." Field Crops Report Field Crops Farmers took advantage of dry weather to plant. Wheat progressed. The majority of the crop was in Feekes growing stage 8; some was in Feekes 6, 7 and 9. Rye, oats and barley progressed. Early planted fields were slightly damaged by the abundance of rain while late planted fields looked good. Rye was in Feekes growing stages of 9 or more. Oats were in Feekes growing stages 6 and 7 in early planted fields. Corn and soybean planting progressed rapidly with dry weather. Early planted fields of soybeans have emerged. Alfalfa was growing well. First cuttings are expected. Winter kill affected the tonnage in comparison to last year. Reports of weevil feeding continued. Sugarbeets were emerging. A reporter in the Thumb region stated, "Dry bean planting will begin this week." Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Scattered frost on May 18 caused damage to some fruit. Apple bloom neared completion in the southwest; trees were in petal fall in the Grand Rapids area. Apple scab was a concern because of the extensive amount of rain and resistance to some fungicides. Peaches emerged from the shuck in the southwest and were in petal fall in the west central. Peach leaf curl symptoms appeared. European plums were in shuck. Strawberry bloom continued. Raspberry flower clusters emerged. Sweet cherries were in petal fall in the northwest. Tart cherries were in early petal fall in the northwest; they emerged from the shuck in the southwest, where the crop is variable. Pears were 4 to 8 mm in diameter in the southwest and in full bloom in the northwest. Blueberries ranged from late pink to full bloom. Grape shoots were 2 to 6 inches long in the southwest and at bud swell in the northwest. Vegetables Vegetable growers across the state reported they were still a week behind schedule due to cool, wet, and windy conditions earlier in the month; however, the pace of field work increased this week with higher temperatures. Much plastic has been laid in preparation for warm-season crops. Asparagus harvest continued at a slow pace this week. Common asparagus beetle eggs were observed in fields across the State, and some frost damage to asparagus was observed in Oceana County. The pace of cabbage transplanting increased dramatically with the warmer, drier field conditions. The earliest plantings of sweet corn were at 4 to 6 inches. Although sweet corn growth has been slow, no problems have been reported. Planting of summer and winter squash continued in the Grand Rapids area while potatoes were being planted this week in the southeast. Direct seeded cucumbers were at the first true leaf stage. Seeded cucumbers under tunnels were at the third true leaf while transplants were at the fifth and sixth leaf. Seeded fields of onions were in the first leaf; some onion fields looked good while others displayed areas of poor emergence due to excessive moisture. On muck soils, celery transplanting continued and carrots were emerging. Some celery growers were behind schedule due to wet soils. Carrot growers in western counties were evaluating replanting in fields damaged by rain. Transplanting of peppers, eggplant, watermelon and cantaloupe began this week. Lettuce, radish, leek, and parsnip establishment continued. Transplanting of tomatoes continued this week while tomatoes under tunnels were close to touching the top of the tunnel. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/24/09 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 0 14 72 14 Subsoil : 0 5 78 17 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/24/09 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 0 3 18 55 24 Oats : 0 2 26 61 11 Pasture : 1 4 26 42 27 Winter Wheat : 1 5 24 51 19 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/24/09 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, first cutting : 4 NA 5 5 Asparagus, harvested : 25 13 47 45 Barley, planted : 95 80 82 91 Barley, emerged : 64 46 38 69 Corn, planted : 77 41 93 86 Corn, emerged : 27 6 57 55 Dry beans, planted : 4 NA 1 2 Oats, planted : 92 86 97 98 Oats, emerged : 75 60 84 89 Potatoes, planted : 72 56 66 71 Potatoes, emerged : 25 8 31 35 Soybeans, planted : 43 15 76 61 Soybeans, emerged : 8 1 17 22 Sugarbeets, planted : 100 96 100 100 Winter wheat, headed : 1 0 1 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 05/25/09 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2009 :2008 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 88 30 265 184 0.11 0.77 1.62 4.11 Marquette : 90 32 205 144 0.11 0.77 1.62 4.12 Stephenson : 88 34 294 260 0.07 0.77 1.86 4.16 Western UP : 90 25 0 248 184 249 0.14 0.84 1.70 4.17 4.82 3.37 : Cornell : 79 34 245 208 0.12 1.07 1.53 4.04 Sault St Marie : 80 37 190 170 0.25 1.95 2.18 3.26 Eastern UP : 84 34 0 197 169 167 0.13 1.30 1.90 4.30 4.73 3.01 : Beulah : 84 42 328 334 0.12 0.81 1.44 4.07 Lake City : 81 38 328 313 0.15 1.65 2.33 5.05 Old Mission : 84 35 279 283 0.02 0.46 0.60 2.16 Pellston : 86 27 275 290 0.08 0.77 1.27 2.27 Northwest : 86 27 3 290 291 297 0.08 0.91 1.32 3.18 4.72 2.61 : Alpena : 89 38 299 292 0.00 1.02 1.48 4.25 Houghton Lake : 82 37 323 321 0.17 1.45 2.21 5.75 Rogers City : 86 38 300 265 0.06 1.05 1.56 4.66 Northeast : 90 36 4 309 305 278 0.08 1.10 1.70 4.81 4.73 2.76 : Fremont : 80 47 356 370 0.00 1.00 2.85 5.94 Hart : 78 45 337 333 0.00 2.24 3.79 6.67 Muskegon : 78 51 368 332 0.19 0.68 2.25 5.61 West Central : 80 24 5 359 352 341 0.05 1.58 3.21 5.86 5.30 2.67 : Alma : 83 36 356 373 0.04 0.83 2.14 8.24 Big Rapids : 84 32 388 388 0.04 0.68 2.24 5.50 Central : 84 32 4 367 378 375 0.06 0.78 2.20 6.38 5.31 2.79 : Bad Axe : 85 34 331 351 0.00 0.58 1.77 6.41 Pigeon : 84 39 322 349 0.00 0.51 2.34 5.85 Saginaw : 84 45 361 389 0.04 0.58 1.88 6.94 Standish : 84 31 339 335 0.02 0.91 1.98 5.58 East Central : 85 30 2 324 363 357 0.02 0.68 1.95 6.46 4.69 2.63 : Fennville : 80 48 394 355 0.02 0.70 1.67 6.15 Grand Rapids : 84 49 431 422 0.01 0.80 2.16 6.71 Holland : 82 34 435 417 0.01 1.26 2.65 8.45 South Bend, IN : 83 44 472 438 0.01 1.21 1.95 5.15 Watervliet : 83 44 423 394 0.09 1.06 1.91 6.20 Southwest : 86 32 5 431 413 406 0.06 1.05 2.06 6.64 5.87 3.01 : Belding : 83 46 361 379 0.07 1.02 2.62 6.87 Coldwater : 84 48 447 378 0.08 2.86 3.23 7.27 Lansing : 82 47 391 413 0.06 1.47 2.69 8.51 South Central : 84 35 4 404 400 406 0.06 1.48 2.75 7.49 5.56 2.92 : Detroit : 83 50 464 447 0.03 1.70 2.99 6.96 Flint : 82 45 404 442 0.04 1.03 2.03 6.79 Romeo : 84 45 392 374 0.03 0.61 0.85 2.91 Tipton : 84 43 441 416 0.50 2.24 3.08 6.88 Toledo, OH : 86 44 478 443 0.00 1.17 2.47 6.46 Southeast : 87 30 3 424 419 385 0.09 1.49 2.53 6.32 5.60 2.85 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Issued by the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commer 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.