mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released November 2, 2009 Week Ending Date November 1, 2009 Issue MI-CW4409 Agricultural Summary Wet Weather Continues Three days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 1, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation varied from 0.64 inch in the western Upper Peninsula to 2.94 inches in the central Lower Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from 1 degree above normal in the western Upper Peninsula to 5 degrees above normal in the central, east central, and southeastern Lower Peninsula. Excessive rainfall persisted. The added moisture created soggy fields and stopped all field activities. Some growers have started harvesting corn as high-moisture, while others continued to wait for drier weather to help further dry down corn. Fall activities included harvesting sugarbeets, dry beans, and apples, hauling manure, and preparing equipment for winter storage. Field Crops Report Field Crops Rains continued this week and made any fieldwork difficult. Many farmers hoped for drier weather to aid in the dry down of crops and to dry out severely saturated soils. Corn moisture remained high. Some growers experienced high drying costs. Harvest proved to be difficult due to mold emergence on tips of corn ears. A reporter in the southeast stated, "Some were being turned away (from elevators) and said to dump it out on the field, total loss." Corn silage harvest was nearly complete. Soybean harvest continued. In the central region, some fields were plowed under. Wheat planting continued as conditions permitted and germination was slow. Bags of wheat seed were available; however, many growers were unsure whether to plant this late in the season. Sugarbeet harvest paused for the time being. According to a producer in the Thumb, "A dry week is needed to finish our harvest." Dry bean harvest neared completion. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Harvest of late apple varieties continued in a few orchards. A large quantity will not be picked due to the size of the crop and the loss of processing markets. Grape harvest was completed. Fall clean-up activities began in orchards and vineyards as weather allowed. This will be the final fruit summary for the 2009 season. Vegetables Vegetable harvest is complete for the 2009 season. Across the State, growers have focused on removing plastic and stakes from their fields, performing tillage operations, planting winter cover crops as weather conditions allowed, and preparing equipment for winter storage. This will be the final vegetable summary for the 2009 season. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 11/01/09 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 0 1 42 57 Subsoil : 0 5 65 30 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 11/01/09 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 5 14 29 39 13 Pasture : 4 19 33 33 11 Winter Wheat : 1 3 36 47 13 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 11/01/09 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, fourth cutting : 70 61 70 80 Apples, harvested : 78 72 95 95 Corn, mature : 87 81 100 100 Corn, harvested : 10 6 50 56 Dry beans, harvested : 96 89 99 99 Potatoes, harvested : 95 91 97 95 Soybeans, harvested : 59 51 93 82 Sugarbeets, harvested : 68 38 70 65 Winter wheat, planted : 81 73 98 95 Winter wheat, emerged : 45 34 69 75 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 11/01/09 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 : 63 28 1,866 2,008 0.55 2.64 4.17 18.81 Marquette : 59 30 1,713 1,878 0.55 2.64 4.17 20.86 Stephenson : 58 29 2,125 2,353 0.74 2.97 4.98 21.81 Western UP : 63 25 1 1,848 1,966 2,037 0.64 2.58 4.19 19.77 22.61 2.54 : Cornell : 59 31 1,951 2,207 1.02 3.09 5.01 19.00 Sault St Marie : 62 36 1,738 1,918 2.32 4.27 5.70 20.32 Eastern UP : 62 29 2 1,727 1,922 1,786 1.18 3.38 5.40 21.87 21.63 2.65 : Beulah : 66 38 2,176 2,554 1.09 2.48 3.66 23.78 Lake City : 65 34 2,060 2,373 1.95 3.87 4.83 26.17 Old Mission : 67 37 2,063 2,439 1.19 2.46 3.79 18.93 Pellston : 66 34 1,928 2,250 1.59 2.89 4.15 19.43 Northwest : 67 32 4 2,006 2,337 2,341 1.20 2.60 3.76 20.11 20.92 2.69 : Alpena : 67 30 2,050 2,361 1.24 2.90 3.94 26.61 Houghton Lake : 65 37 2,075 2,419 1.54 3.25 4.03 23.33 Rogers City : 66 32 2,001 2,326 1.34 3.02 5.42 29.03 Northeast : 67 29 3 2,035 2,353 2,261 1.50 2.97 4.13 24.87 20.42 2.57 : Fremont : 66 36 2,388 2,650 2.55 4.55 5.40 24.18 Hart : 65 36 2,248 2,539 1.65 2.84 3.50 22.65 Muskegon : 67 41 2,607 2,713 2.17 4.43 5.23 23.06 West Central : 67 28 4 2,370 2,598 2,562 2.26 4.18 4.82 23.61 21.14 2.88 : Alma : 66 39 2,446 2,759 3.06 4.60 5.72 26.40 Big Rapids : 66 35 2,267 2,614 3.98 5.93 6.89 28.20 Central : 66 35 5 2,358 2,672 2,649 2.94 4.22 5.09 24.59 21.61 2.49 : Bad Axe : 69 34 2,298 2,655 0.68 1.35 2.45 20.62 Pigeon : 69 34 2,268 2,564 1.57 2.57 3.59 22.03 Saginaw : 69 37 2,528 2,848 1.99 2.88 3.67 21.19 Standish : 66 30 2,234 2,510 1.87 3.33 4.25 22.15 East Central : 69 30 5 2,292 2,670 2,664 1.55 2.52 3.54 22.37 19.29 2.23 : Fennville : 67 34 2,479 2,739 3.20 5.58 6.70 28.98 Grand Rapids : 67 41 2,753 3,079 2.96 5.61 6.84 30.36 Holland : 68 42 2,869 3,111 2.73 6.71 7.71 43.25 South Bend, IN : 67 34 2,913 3,209 1.47 3.11 4.12 27.92 Watervliet : 66 34 2,684 2,939 2.34 4.25 5.21 26.35 Southwest : 68 31 4 2,699 2,960 2,920 2.35 4.40 5.33 27.84 22.61 2.79 : Belding : 66 32 2,408 2,722 2.56 4.85 5.86 26.37 Coldwater : 68 32 2,794 2,972 0.79 1.24 2.24 22.14 Lansing : 69 39 2,600 2,947 1.22 2.73 3.57 29.05 South Central : 69 32 4 2,549 2,879 2,864 1.44 2.93 3.95 25.93 21.54 2.32 : Detroit : 74 40 3,015 3,285 0.45 1.46 2.48 23.19 Flint : 69 38 2,558 2,985 1.02 2.17 2.92 26.67 Romeo : 71 33 2,577 2,837 0.98 2.23 3.14 23.20 Tipton : 69 38 2,672 2,976 0.85 2.13 3.14 24.91 Toledo, OH : 75 31 2,998 3,268 0.49 1.33 2.69 24.69 Southeast : 75 28 5 2,692 3,043 2,861 0.74 1.76 2.73 22.74 20.49 2.44 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.