mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released October 4, 2010 Week Ending Date October 3, 2010 Issue MI-CW4010 Agricultural Summary First Frost Five days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 3, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation ranged from 0.29 inches to 0.32 inches in the Upper Peninsula and varied from 0.18 inches to 1.14 inches in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures in the Upper Peninsula averaged 1 degree below normal, while temperatures in the Lower Peninsula ranged from 2 to 4 degrees below normal. It was another cool and windy week with scattered precipitation. There was a report of having the first frost over the weekend in the Upper Peninsula, and reports of very light scattered frost in the Lower Peninsula. Harvest of crops continued, along with winter wheat planting, and fall plowing. Some fall manure hauling began. Field Crops Report Field Crops Harvesting of field crops continued in mid to southern counties while harvest began in counties farther north. Progress remained ahead of normal pace. "Most of the crops will be harvested and in the bin or storage by the end of the month," one reporter indicated, "Corn is drying down and some was being picked for high moisture cattle feed" said another reporter from Emmet County. Signs of lodging slowed harvest and reduced yield potential in Gratiot and Saginaw Counties. Overall, corn harvest progress was considerably ahead of average. Soybean harvest began in counties along Lake Michigan and was going well. Farmers in southeastern counties continued to be well ahead of normal. Wheat seed was planted as soon as possible after soybeans were harvested. Dry Bean harvest was wrapping up, and sugarbeets continued to be harvested on an "as needed" basis. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Apple harvest continued. Honeycrisp harvest has ended. Cortland, Empire, Jonathan, and Red and Golden Delicious continued to be harvested. Idared harvest has begun in the west central; harvest of Northern Spy has started in the southeast and west central. Fruit color continued to improve in the southeast and northwest. Harvest of juice grapes has ended. Harvest of fall raspberries continued. Vegetables Cooler temperatures slowed development of warm season vegetables in the southeast while frost in the southwest brought production of these crops to an end. Growers continued to remove stakes, black plastic and drip tape in preparation for planting of fall cover crops. Crops harvested included: pumpkins, gourds, hard squash, carrots, winter squash, yellow squash, zucchini for fresh and processing, cucumbers for pickles, potatoes, snap beans, peppers, cool season crops, and tomatoes for fresh and processing. Wholesale pumpkin harvest was all but complete, throughout Michigan, with growers beginning direct sales. Pumpkins were of excellent quality, but smaller than average size. Quality of cool season crops was high. Sweet corn, peppers, snap beans, and tomatoes were still available in the Macomb County area. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 10/03/10 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 5 14 72 9 Subsoil : 5 29 63 3 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 10/03/10 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 4 25 49 21 Corn : 2 6 16 45 31 Pasture : 1 14 29 44 12 Soybeans : 3 7 20 45 25 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 10/03/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 91 88 86 90 All hay, fourth cutting : 59 49 41 40 Apples, harvested : 77 62 38 51 Corn, mature : 96 90 35 73 Corn, harvested : 30 19 2 10 Dry beans, harvested : 89 76 55 65 Potatoes, harvested : 47 37 47 54 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 96 86 74 85 Soybeans, harvested : 35 17 3 17 Sugarbeets, harvested : 28 21 11 10 Winter wheat, planted : 39 19 26 31 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 10/03/10 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 : 71 31 2,222 1,843 0.28 3.05 5.23 25.12 Marquette : 68 34 2,149 1,698 0.60 3.32 5.90 25.54 Stephenson : 72 31 2,561 2,082 0.07 2.59 4.46 24.30 Western UP : 73 23 -1 2,233 1,784 1,927 0.29 3.12 5.80 25.47 20.27 2.57 : Cornell : 65 32 2,389 1,930 0.29 2.63 5.37 23.01 Sault St Marie : 65 32 2,266 1,716 0.20 3.53 6.22 21.79 Eastern UP : 70 27 -1 2,197 1,704 1,704 0.32 2.67 5.52 24.80 19.18 2.57 : Beulah : 68 35 2,688 2,131 0.62 3.20 4.49 21.26 Lake City : 68 30 2,520 2,018 0.53 1.33 3.22 24.69 Old Mission : 68 38 2,580 2,016 0.10 2.29 3.86 20.85 Pellston : 66 25 2,424 1,894 0.08 2.33 4.49 23.20 Northwest : 68 25 -2 2,506 1,966 2,207 0.27 2.05 3.46 20.27 18.42 2.75 : Alpena : 68 39 2,499 2,004 0.11 2.60 3.86 21.25 Houghton Lake : 68 30 2,651 2,039 0.11 0.53 2.11 19.20 Rogers City : 66 38 2,342 1,961 0.19 3.26 4.55 25.50 Northeast : 69 30 -3 2,527 1,994 2,135 0.18 2.02 3.48 22.52 18.23 2.40 : Fremont : 71 34 2,877 2,315 0.40 1.10 3.26 16.56 Hart : 68 34 2,762 2,180 0.14 0.28 1.41 19.74 Muskegon : 73 39 3,189 2,523 0.48 1.07 3.14 21.48 West Central : 73 32 -3 2,884 2,296 2,415 0.39 0.93 2.86 19.60 18.41 2.94 : Alma : 72 37 2,950 2,363 0.54 0.96 2.10 22.12 Big Rapids : 73 33 2,767 2,186 0.44 1.00 2.36 22.92 Central : 73 33 -3 2,852 2,269 2,492 0.43 0.83 2.04 19.48 19.20 2.59 : Bad Axe : 70 41 2,807 2,220 0.97 1.89 3.21 22.04 Pigeon : 70 41 2,770 2,188 0.90 1.80 2.86 17.33 Saginaw : 72 38 3,087 2,436 0.62 0.95 1.93 17.42 Standish : 70 37 2,715 2,167 0.77 1.46 2.67 23.55 East Central : 72 37 -3 2,808 2,251 2,503 1.08 1.82 3.01 20.23 17.08 2.41 : Fennville : 71 36 2,986 2,394 0.00 0.13 3.55 27.99 Grand Rapids : 73 37 3,284 2,656 0.37 0.73 2.38 24.88 Holland : 72 39 3,262 2,750 0.01 0.67 3.21 34.70 South Bend, IN : 74 36 3,355 2,802 0.12 0.59 1.27 22.25 Watervliet : 73 35 3,170 2,587 0.20 0.57 2.03 22.17 Southwest : 75 32 -4 3,155 2,601 2,731 0.21 0.69 2.37 24.39 19.73 2.99 : Belding : 73 35 2,885 2,330 0.34 0.98 2.66 19.75 Coldwater : 75 36 3,192 2,675 0.01 0.02 0.18 18.14 Lansing : 72 38 3,172 2,506 0.53 0.87 4.17 19.15 South Central : 75 34 -4 3,035 2,475 2,680 0.48 0.76 2.97 22.08 19.23 2.41 : Detroit : 74 44 3,417 2,879 1.27 1.59 3.48 22.82 Flint : 73 40 3,138 2,464 1.45 1.65 3.21 17.74 Romeo : 73 42 2,999 2,468 2.31 2.56 3.99 17.60 Tipton : 73 38 3,077 2,566 0.65 0.83 2.33 24.29 Toledo, OH : 75 40 3,398 2,874 0.96 0.99 1.89 23.38 Southeast : 77 34 -4 3,132 2,642 2,678 1.14 1.29 2.56 21.32 18.28 2.33 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.