mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released October 12, 2010 Week Ending Date October 10, 2010 Issue MI-CW4110 Agricultural Summary Unseasonably Warm & Dry Seven days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 10, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation was minimal throughout the state except in Coldwater where they received 0.07 inches. Temperatures in the Upper Peninsula averaged 6 degree above normal, while temperatures in the Lower Peninsula ranged from 2 to 5 degrees above normal. A frost was reported early in the week. Temperatures rebounded to an unusually warm week throughout Michigan. Harvest of crops continued with fall groundwork nearing completion. Growers reported a very productive week and are ahead of schedule. Field Crops Report Field Crops Farmers took advantage of favorable weather conditions to make significant progress on field crops. Extensive harvest continued due to sunny, warm, and dry weather conditions. Field reporters used words such as 'ideal', 'productive', and 'favorable' to describe harvest conditions. Corn for grain harvest continued well ahead of normal; some were finished with harvest altogether. Moisture ranges were reported in the mid to upper teens depending on the location of the field. Soybeans suffered from a dry August in the mid section and had smaller pods at harvest. Moisture was consistently reported around 10%. Wheat fields were still being planted; several reporters indicated a need of rain to germinate the crop. Sugarbeets were nearly one- fourth harvested. The crop has been on a 'harvest as needed' basis one day a week until piling begins later this month. Some acres of alfalfa were still being cut. While a few farmers worked on third cuttings, one reporter indicated having done a fifth cutting. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Cortland, Empire, Jonathan, Idared, Northern Spy, and Red and Golden Delicious apples continued to be harvested. Fuji harvest has begun in the southeast. Harvest of Idared has been completed in many blocks in the northwest. Late varieties of wine grapes continued to be harvested in the southwest. Fall raspberries continued to be harvested. Vegetables Last week's frost brought production of warm season crops to an end; however warm temperatures allowed growers to continue to harvest other crops. Growers continued to remove stakes, black plastic and drip tape in preparation for, and planting of, fall cover crops. Crops harvested included: pumpkins, gourds, hard squash, carrots, winter squash, potatoes, peppers, cool season crops and tomatoes for fresh and processing. Irrigation of carrot fields occurred in Oceana County to help facilitate harvest. Growers took advantage of warmer temperatures for direct sales of pumpkins and other vegetables in the southwest. Quality of pumpkins and winter squash, in Oceana County, should not be affected as a result of frost. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 10/10/10 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 9 31 59 1 Subsoil : 8 38 52 2 --------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 10/10/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, third cutting : 92 91 90 94 All hay, fourth cutting : 59 59 45 50 Apples, harvested : 86 77 48 65 Corn, mature : 97 96 58 84 Corn, harvested : 45 30 3 15 Dry beans, harvested : 95 89 66 80 Potatoes, harvested : 72 47 60 64 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 97 96 91 95 Soybeans, harvested : 66 35 6 34 Sugarbeets, harvested : 33 28 14 14 Winter wheat, planted : 73 39 34 52 Winter wheat, emerged : 25 0 18 20 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 10/10/10 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 4 30 51 14 Corn : 1 4 20 48 27 Pasture : 3 18 31 38 10 Soybeans : 2 5 23 49 21 ----------------------------------------------------------- Percent of fall seasons (1971-2000) in which first freeze occurred on or before the date (mo/day) given in the table ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Station :Earliest : 90% : 50% : 10% : Latest ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alma : 9/20 10/18 10/07 9/24 11/01 Alpena : 8/29 10/08 9/24 9/15 10/10 Bad Axe : 9/17 10/31 10/11 09/28 11/07 Caro : 8/29 10/08 9/24 9/08 10/08 Coldwater : 9/20 10/18 10/06 9/23 10/22 Eau Claire : 10/02 11/05 10/20 10/08 11/10 Grand Rapids : 9/23 10/19 10/09 9/25 11/01 Hesperia : 9/04 10/12 9/24 9/07 10/19 Lansing : 9/13 10/14 10/06 9/22 10/18 Lapeer : 8/15 10/21 10/04 8/30 11/01 Marquette : 8/31 10/03 9/22 9/07 10/14 Monroe : 10/02 11/04 10/19 10/09 12/09 Saginaw : 9/22 10/30 10/12 9/25 11/06 S.S. Marie : 8/29 10/09 9/25 9/10 10/21 Standish : 8/20 10/09 9/24 9/10 11/01 Stephenson : 8/28 9/28 9/18 9/04 10/03 Traverse City : 8/29 10/19 10/06 9/17 11/01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 10/10/10 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 : 79 32 2,295 1,845 0.00 0.28 4.18 25.12 Marquette : 79 33 2,214 1,701 0.00 0.60 4.92 25.54 Stephenson : 81 28 2,646 2,097 0.00 0.07 3.72 24.30 Western UP : 84 23 6 2,305 1,790 1,963 0.00 0.29 4.68 25.47 20.81 2.57 : Cornell : 76 32 2,452 1,943 0.00 0.29 3.85 23.01 Sault St Marie : 70 31 2,322 1,726 0.00 0.20 4.54 21.79 Eastern UP : 76 28 5 2,256 1,713 1,733 0.00 0.36 3.99 24.84 19.78 2.57 : Beulah : 75 33 2,751 2,142 0.00 0.62 3.84 21.26 Lake City : 76 26 2,590 2,029 0.00 0.53 2.41 24.69 Old Mission : 78 30 2,647 2,028 0.00 0.10 3.14 20.85 Pellston : 72 23 2,487 1,905 0.00 0.08 3.61 23.20 Northwest : 78 23 3 2,568 1,977 2,249 0.01 0.24 2.81 20.24 19.02 2.75 : Alpena : 79 28 2,566 2,022 0.00 0.11 3.23 21.25 Houghton Lake : 76 23 2,720 2,051 0.00 0.11 1.56 19.20 Rogers City : 77 29 2,400 1,977 0.00 0.19 3.93 25.50 Northeast : 79 23 2 2,593 2,010 2,173 0.00 0.19 2.94 22.52 18.81 2.40 : Fremont : 77 29 2,952 2,333 0.00 0.40 2.33 16.56 Hart : 76 29 2,827 2,195 0.00 0.14 0.58 19.74 Muskegon : 77 34 3,256 2,547 0.00 0.48 2.22 21.48 West Central : 77 26 2 2,952 2,315 2,461 0.01 0.40 1.86 19.61 19.10 2.94 : Alma : 79 32 3,027 2,388 0.00 0.54 1.44 22.12 Big Rapids : 79 28 2,844 2,205 0.00 0.44 1.54 22.92 Central : 79 28 3 2,930 2,290 2,540 0.00 0.43 1.37 19.48 19.88 2.59 : Bad Axe : 76 38 2,866 2,245 0.00 0.97 2.80 22.04 Pigeon : 75 33 2,833 2,213 0.00 0.90 2.49 17.33 Saginaw : 78 33 3,159 2,463 0.00 0.62 1.52 17.42 Standish : 78 30 2,787 2,192 0.00 0.77 2.20 23.55 East Central : 78 30 2 2,873 2,276 2,555 0.00 1.08 2.58 20.23 17.67 2.41 : Fennville : 80 31 3,057 2,412 0.00 0.00 3.10 27.99 Grand Rapids : 80 33 3,363 2,680 0.00 0.37 1.48 24.88 Holland : 84 31 3,336 2,777 0.01 0.64 3.28 35.33 South Bend, IN : 85 30 3,443 2,829 0.00 0.12 0.89 22.25 Watervliet : 83 30 3,252 2,612 0.01 0.21 1.56 22.18 Southwest : 86 27 2 3,236 2,624 2,788 0.01 0.27 1.85 24.44 20.54 2.99 : Belding : 78 30 2,961 2,349 0.01 0.35 1.61 19.76 Coldwater : 86 31 3,284 2,706 0.07 0.08 0.12 18.21 Lansing : 80 31 3,247 2,533 0.00 0.53 3.62 19.15 South Central : 86 28 3 3,115 2,500 2,737 0.01 0.49 2.37 22.09 19.97 2.41 : Detroit : 83 43 3,496 2,911 0.00 1.27 3.08 22.82 Flint : 77 34 3,211 2,490 0.00 1.45 2.67 17.74 Romeo : 82 39 3,089 2,492 0.00 2.31 3.53 17.60 Tipton : 86 39 3,163 2,593 0.00 0.65 1.99 24.29 Toledo, OH : 82 39 3,475 2,903 0.00 0.96 1.54 23.38 Southeast : 87 32 3 3,212 2,671 2,736 0.00 1.14 2.22 21.32 18.89 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.