mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 20, 2010 Week Ending Date September 19, 2010 Issue MI-CW3810 Agricultural Summary Fall Harvest Continues with Cool and Wet Weather Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 19, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation ranged from 1.28 inches to 1.56 inches in the Upper Peninsula and 0.58 inches to 1.62 inches in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 2 to 5 degrees below normal. Fall harvest and fieldwork continued across many crops between the rainfalls this week. One reporter in southeast Lower Peninsula stated, "It will be a mixed harvest this year as operators have started to harvest earlier than normal. In one month, producers will have a hard time deciding which crop to harvest first. I have never seen this before, especially having corn ready for harvest before soybeans." Another producer in the east central Lower Peninsula also stated, "It was quite a sight on Wednesday, September 15th. Dry beans, soybeans, corn and sugarbeets were being harvested, and wheat was being planted all on the same day. This usually does not happen." Field Crops Report Field Crops Grain crops continued to mature ahead of normal across the state, although rain showers slowed harvest progress two days during the week. Corn harvest for grain occurred on a steady basis in southern counties while high moisture harvest started in the central area of the state. Uneven drydown resulted in little grain harvest being accomplished in the Thumb as silage harvest wrapped up. Soybeans were also harvested in southern counties. Corn and soybeans were maturing around the same time putting farmers in a dilemma as to which crop to harvest first. Farmers were anxious to plant winter wheat. Seedings were accomplished as far north as Lapeer County. Alfalfa was too short to make another cutting. The rain during the week helped alfalfa conditions. Rain showers improved sugarbeet field conditions. Harvest of the crop continued on a limited basis. It has still been too warm to begin piling. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple harvest continued. McIntosh and Gala harvests neared completion. Empire, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious harvesting was underway. Color development was aided by cooler temperatures in the Grand Rapids area. Winds in the northwest continued to cause ripening fruit to drop off in some blocks. Harvest of peaches was winding down in the southwest. Pear harvest continued across the state; harvest has ended in the southeast. Harvest of early varieties of grapes continued. Grape berry moth continued to be a problem in the northwest and southwest. Harvest of fall raspberries continued. Vegetables Growers continued to remove stakes and black plastic in preparation for planting of fall cover crops. Thus far, crops have not been impacted by frost. Crops harvested included: broccoli, pumpkins, gourds, hard squash, carrots, onions, winter squash, cabbage, yellow squash, celery, zucchini for fresh and processing, cucumbers for pickles, sweet corn, potatoes, snap beans, peppers, watermelon, tomatoes for fresh and processing, eggplant, radishes, and leeks. In the southwest, pepper growers were combating broad mites. This pest was new to the area. Processing carrots were harvesting earlier than normal due to heavy foliar disease pressure in Oceana County. In the southeast, harvest of potatoes to be stored for later sales had not begun due to warm soil temperatures. Pumpkins appeared to be smaller than average and fruit set was also below average in the southeast. In the Grand Haven area, growers had some rotting problems in pumpkins. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/19/10 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 7 17 68 8 Subsoil : 7 30 60 3 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/19/10 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 5 26 52 16 Corn : 3 7 18 47 25 Dry beans : 4 12 28 40 16 Pasture : 2 14 30 46 8 Soybeans : 2 6 24 47 21 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/19/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 82 66 66 79 All hay, fourth cutting : 40 27 25 25 Apples, harvested : 47 35 21 26 Corn, dent : 98 94 61 85 Corn, mature : 75 60 9 39 Corn, harvested : 13 4 0 2 Corn silage, harvested : 88 76 13 58 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 96 85 64 83 Dry beans, harvested : 64 44 19 34 Potatoes, harvested : 27 26 35 38 Soybeans, turning leaves : 92 79 60 79 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 66 38 20 46 Soybeans, harvested : 5 1 0 3 Sugarbeets, harvested : 16 11 3 2 Winter wheat, planted : 8 2 7 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 09/19/10 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2010 :2009 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 61 32 2,136 1,731 1.13 2.18 3.58 22.07 Marquette : 62 33 2,078 1,607 1.60 2.58 3.57 22.22 Stephenson : 70 32 2,436 1,966 1.13 1.87 3.84 21.71 Western UP : 70 29 -4 2,141 1,682 1,841 1.56 2.68 4.07 22.35 18.70 3.58 : Cornell : 64 34 2,305 1,820 1.22 2.74 3.96 20.38 Sault St Marie : 62 38 2,187 1,620 1.01 2.69 5.35 18.26 Eastern UP : 64 33 -4 2,115 1,608 1,628 1.28 2.85 5.76 22.13 17.52 3.55 : Beulah : 69 40 2,569 2,014 0.64 1.29 2.84 18.06 Lake City : 67 33 2,405 1,916 1.08 1.89 3.86 23.36 Old Mission : 69 40 2,464 1,904 0.85 1.57 2.79 18.56 Pellston : 67 31 2,322 1,790 1.28 2.16 4.26 20.87 Northwest : 69 31 -4 2,394 1,857 2,095 0.79 1.42 2.95 18.22 16.54 3.66 : Alpena : 69 33 2,391 1,900 0.63 1.26 1.57 18.65 Houghton Lake : 70 31 2,529 1,932 1.03 1.58 2.65 18.67 Rogers City : 67 36 2,253 1,862 0.67 1.29 1.77 22.24 Northeast : 72 31 -5 2,420 1,889 2,028 0.92 1.46 2.16 20.50 16.52 3.47 : Fremont : 72 42 2,729 2,188 1.23 2.16 4.17 15.46 Hart : 70 42 2,630 2,069 0.30 1.13 2.82 19.46 Muskegon : 74 48 3,020 2,376 1.15 2.07 5.64 20.41 West Central : 74 37 -3 2,737 2,171 2,287 0.93 1.93 4.03 18.67 16.81 3.19 : Alma : 75 42 2,807 2,234 0.68 1.34 1.96 21.36 Big Rapids : 74 39 2,624 2,061 0.50 1.30 2.60 20.92 Central : 75 39 -3 2,708 2,143 2,360 0.58 1.25 2.19 18.45 17.63 3.09 : Bad Axe : 74 41 2,687 2,086 0.91 1.32 2.84 20.15 Pigeon : 74 39 2,643 2,047 0.69 1.06 1.63 15.53 Saginaw : 75 42 2,944 2,291 0.57 0.98 1.70 16.47 Standish : 74 38 2,588 2,036 0.74 1.21 2.10 22.09 East Central : 75 38 -3 2,679 2,113 2,363 0.76 1.19 2.23 18.42 15.74 2.70 : Fennville : 74 46 2,825 2,259 2.97 3.42 3.88 27.86 Grand Rapids : 77 47 3,102 2,507 0.75 1.65 2.13 24.15 Holland : 76 48 3,095 2,605 0.88 1.44 3.12 32.93 South Bend, IN : 79 49 3,166 2,644 0.30 0.68 1.69 21.66 Watervliet : 76 48 2,997 2,443 0.98 1.46 2.42 21.60 Southwest : 79 40 -2 2,981 2,458 2,573 1.03 1.55 2.49 23.57 18.12 3.26 : Belding : 74 40 2,733 2,198 0.62 1.68 2.12 18.77 Coldwater : 80 44 3,020 2,511 0.03 0.16 1.32 18.12 Lansing : 78 42 3,013 2,363 2.75 3.30 4.34 18.28 South Central : 80 40 -2 2,879 2,333 2,528 1.62 2.23 3.23 21.34 17.92 2.79 : Detroit : 81 50 3,241 2,694 1.49 1.89 2.04 21.23 Flint : 78 38 2,981 2,314 1.02 1.56 2.65 16.09 Romeo : 74 43 2,869 2,324 0.97 1.43 1.61 15.04 Tipton : 80 47 2,928 2,402 1.16 1.50 2.23 23.46 Toledo, OH : 80 45 3,219 2,698 0.55 0.90 1.29 22.39 Southeast : 82 36 -2 2,980 2,479 2,526 0.92 1.26 1.74 20.03 17.18 2.43 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Issued by the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Michigan State University 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.