mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released October 25, 2010 Week Ending Date October 24, 2010 Issue MI-CW4310 Agricultural Summary Fall Harvest Nearly Complete Six days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 24, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation ranged from 0.93 inches to 1.14 inches in the Upper Peninsula and 0.30 to 1.04 inches in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures were normal in the Upper Peninsula, while temperatures in the Lower Peninsula ranged from normal to 2 degrees below normal. Cold, windy, and wet weather was reported in the Upper Peninsula this week. There were reports of some light snow in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula. It was another good week of harvest in the Lower Peninsula with only a few minor delays caused by light rain. One reporter in the south central Lower Peninsula stated, "Rain over the weekend provided a welcome break from the hectic harvest pace of the past weeks. It gave a chance to renew energy and get ready for the "final run to the bin" with this year's bountiful crops." Activities for the week included harvest, manure hauling, fall tillage, and equipment repairs Field Crops Report Field Crops It was another great week for field crop harvest activities until some much needed rain came Friday evening through Sunday. Deep ripping and chisel plowing were common as growers wrapped up harvest. Overall, crop progress remains well ahead of normal. Soybean harvest was nearly complete. Corn moisture levels continued to be low allowing farmers to bypass dryers. Harvest did slow somewhat due to backups at local elevators. Especially dry conditions in southeast counties have farmers worried about wheat emergence. In other areas the crop looks promising. A few light frosts have not stalled wheat or alfalfa growth. Sugarbeet harvest picked up on Tuesday with the start of piling. Rain and warmer temperatures later in the week induced a delay in harvest. In northern regions growers were "finishing up and making sure all loose ends are tied up before winter," according to a reporter in Grand Traverse County. The area still has a little corn to shell and wheat to plant. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Harvest of apples has ended. Late varieties of wine grapes continued to be harvested in the southwest and northwest. Fall raspberries continued to be harvested. Vegetables Agreeable conditions allowed growers to continue fall harvesting. Weather has been good for farm markets and fall agritourism activities. Light, widespread frost, in the Macomb County area, nipped remaining warm season crops but they continued to be harvested. Irrigation, when used, helped protect warm season crops from frost. Crops harvested included: cabbage, pumpkins, gourds, hard squash, carrots, parsnips, winter squash, potatoes, peppers, cole (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli) crops and tomatoes. Occasionally there were reports of phytophthora blight on squash in the Grand Rapids area. Pumpkin harvest was wrapping up in preparation for Halloween. A grower in the southeast stated, "Wow, pumpkin harvest will be done before market tomato harvest this year." Fall growing conditions have been good for cole crops. These crops were of excellent quality. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 10/24/10 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 9 19 61 11 Subsoil : 9 35 54 2 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 10/24/10 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 6 30 48 15 Pasture : 1 19 35 39 6 Winter Wheat : 0 1 19 59 21 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 10/24/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, fourth cutting : 79 65 60 63 Apples, harvested : 96 91 70 85 Corn, harvested : 73 60 6 33 Potatoes, harvested : 94 84 90 87 Soybeans, harvested : 92 84 48 68 Sugarbeets, harvested : 45 35 36 34 Winter wheat, planted : 94 89 70 83 Winter wheat, emerged : 72 55 32 51 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 10/24/10 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 30 2,347 1,855 0.87 0.97 1.25 26.09 Marquette : 57 29 2,254 1,708 0.89 0.97 1.57 26.51 Stephenson : 61 25 2,725 2,112 1.20 1.25 1.32 25.55 Western UP : 61 22 0 2,358 1,799 2,022 0.93 1.05 1.34 26.53 21.93 2.57 : Cornell : 57 31 2,583 1,959 1.08 1.22 1.31 25.32 Sault St Marie : 55 31 2,358 1,728 1.40 1.55 1.75 23.34 Eastern UP : 60 30 0 2,318 1,720 1,775 1.14 1.26 1.57 26.31 21.04 2.57 : Beulah : 62 37 2,816 2,157 0.71 0.89 1.51 22.15 Lake City : 62 27 2,660 2,045 0.70 0.76 1.29 25.45 Old Mission : 61 35 2,713 2,042 0.83 0.84 0.94 21.69 Pellston : 59 23 2,547 1,913 0.73 0.73 0.81 23.93 Northwest : 62 23 0 2,631 1,989 2,319 0.75 0.82 1.06 21.05 20.35 2.75 : Alpena : 65 27 2,631 2,036 0.91 0.91 1.02 22.16 Houghton Lake : 63 28 2,784 2,061 0.76 0.83 0.94 20.03 Rogers City : 64 30 2,456 1,993 1.08 1.08 1.20 26.51 Northeast : 65 27 -2 2,657 2,023 2,239 0.90 0.92 1.10 23.43 19.97 2.40 : Fremont : 65 27 3,041 2,360 1.21 1.36 1.76 17.92 Hart : 64 26 2,908 2,222 0.90 1.00 1.14 20.74 Muskegon : 68 33 3,353 2,576 1.00 1.24 1.72 22.72 West Central : 68 25 0 3,035 2,341 2,538 1.04 1.20 1.60 20.81 20.54 2.94 : Alma : 72 31 3,115 2,420 1.28 1.90 2.44 24.02 Big Rapids : 64 28 2,923 2,228 0.92 1.38 1.82 24.30 Central : 72 28 -1 3,016 2,319 2,622 0.88 1.33 1.76 20.81 21.08 2.59 : Bad Axe : 71 33 2,933 2,272 0.28 0.42 1.39 22.46 Pigeon : 71 32 2,905 2,239 0.68 0.75 1.65 18.08 Saginaw : 72 32 3,239 2,497 0.32 0.76 1.38 18.18 Standish : 70 29 2,868 2,214 1.18 1.29 2.06 24.80 East Central : 72 29 -1 2,947 2,304 2,638 0.73 1.08 2.16 21.30 18.83 2.41 : Fennville : 72 31 3,154 2,444 0.39 0.70 0.70 28.69 Grand Rapids : 72 30 3,466 2,718 1.09 1.61 1.98 26.49 Holland : 73 33 3,444 2,831 0.88 1.04 1.67 36.36 South Bend, IN : 75 29 3,561 2,874 0.84 0.99 1.11 23.24 Watervliet : 73 30 3,362 2,652 0.57 0.86 1.07 23.04 Southwest : 75 29 0 3,341 2,664 2,887 0.71 1.03 1.30 25.47 21.94 2.99 : Belding : 71 26 3,056 2,379 0.56 1.05 1.40 20.81 Coldwater : 73 30 3,400 2,753 0.35 0.52 0.60 18.73 Lansing : 71 31 3,336 2,567 1.42 2.16 2.69 21.31 South Central : 73 26 0 3,212 2,536 2,832 0.79 1.24 1.75 23.35 21.09 2.41 : Detroit : 75 36 3,604 2,963 0.16 0.58 1.85 23.40 Flint : 73 27 3,302 2,527 0.84 1.46 2.91 19.20 Romeo : 74 29 3,186 2,536 0.42 1.00 3.32 18.61 Tipton : 73 32 3,270 2,633 0.32 0.57 1.22 24.86 Toledo, OH : 74 32 3,578 2,954 0.27 0.67 1.63 24.05 Southeast : 76 24 0 3,317 2,715 2,830 0.30 0.68 1.82 22.00 20.06 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.