mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 31, 2011 Week Ending Date May 29, 2011 Issue MI-CW2211 Agricultural Summary Cool with Persistent Rains Three days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 29, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation ranged from 0.31 inches to 0.43 inches in the Upper Peninsula and 0.42 to 2.56 inches in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 3 to 5 degrees below normal in the Upper Peninsula and ranged from 3 degrees below normal to 1 degree above normal in the Lower Peninsula. Rain continued to delay planting progress this week. High winds made spraying difficult. Some farmers switched to spraying by airplane to keep from rutting up fields. Heavy thunderstorms and strong winds damaged irrigation equipment in Monroe County. This year has been particularly challenging, one reporter in the south central Lower Peninsula stated, "In 53 years of farming, I have never seen planting this difficult." Field Crops Report Field Crops Growers started off the week with a small window of opportunity to plant before the rain came later in the week. They continued to have a tough time getting field work and planting done amongst steady rain showers. Some aerial spraying of fungicides was done. Some fields of wheat had damage from storms and heavy rainfall over the weekend. Alfalfa fields have benefited from the rain showers and cool soil temperatures. Pastures continued to look good. The corn and soybean acres that have been planted are up and looked good. The remaining fields left to be planted continue to be a burden for farmers trying to figure out when the next chance will be to plant. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Despite a leap in growing degree days, fruit development remained about a week behind normal. Insect activity increased, but disease control has been a greater concern. Apples were mostly in petal fall in the Grand Rapids area; fruit set began in the southwest and southeast. Extensive thinning is required, as there is potential for a heavy crop. Codling moth catches increased; spraying for apple scab and fire blight continued. Fruit swell began in tart cherries. Oblique banded leafroller larvae were spotted in the northwest. Sweet cherries were 7 to 11 mm in the southeast and 5 to 10 mm in the west central. Juice grape shoots were 4 to 10 inches long in the southwest. Some northwest wine grapes were at late bud swell; early varieties had 1 to 3 inches of shoot growth. Blueberries were in early to late bloom in the Grand Rapids area and in late bloom to petal fall bloom in the southwest. Fields with extensive winter damage have been especially susceptible to mummy berry and phomopsis. Strawberries had thimble-sized fruit in southern areas but were still blooming farther north. Control of slugs and tarnished plant bug was advised. Flowers were visible in summer raspberries. Peaches were in shuck in the west central and shuck split in the southwest. Bacterial spot suppression continued. Plums were mostly in shuck. Vegetables Planting delays continued in wet areas. Harvest of asparagus continued at a slower than average pace. Sweet corn was emerging with the warmer temperatures, but planting was not yet complete. The carrot and onion crops have emerged on muck soils in the southeast, and have continued to emerge across the State. Tomatoes, peppers, celery, watermelon and cantaloupe were being transplanted. In the southwest, tomatoes grown in tunnels are blooming. Also in the southwest, zucchini and yellow squash transplants were nearly complete. Some winter squash for processing was planted in the west central region. Pea and lettuce plants were developing nicely. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/29/11 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 0 0 28 72 Subsoil : 0 0 36 64 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/29/11 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 1 4 21 53 21 Barley : 0 1 51 45 3 Corn : 3 6 45 38 8 Oats : 0 3 31 54 12 Pasture : 1 5 17 56 21 Winter Wheat : 1 6 26 50 17 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/29/11 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, first cutting : 2 0 29 18 Asparagus, harvested : 52 31 66 54 Barley, planted : 80 78 99 96 Barley, emerged : 49 47 94 80 Corn, planted : 67 57 92 92 Corn, emerged : 46 22 78 69 Dry beans, planted : 1 NA 20 8 Oats, planted : 88 83 100 98 Oats, emerged : 76 52 99 91 Potatoes, planted : 82 73 91 84 Potatoes, emerged : 21 13 62 48 Soybeans, planted : 31 24 70 71 Soybeans, emerged : 16 7 42 35 Sugarbeets, planted : 96 96 100 100 Winter wheat, headed : 8 0 57 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 05/29/11 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2011 :2010 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 73 28 247 452 0.69 1.46 2.85 6.47 Marquette : 70 29 234 430 0.34 1.11 2.95 7.49 Stephenson : 74 28 291 511 0.19 0.80 1.94 6.42 Western UP : 74 26 -5 251 453 293 0.43 1.09 2.66 6.19 5.47 3.37 : Cornell : 71 33 224 475 0.29 1.72 2.41 5.87 Sault St Marie : 70 35 249 453 0.31 1.66 2.41 7.94 Eastern UP : 73 25 -3 224 437 202 0.31 1.59 2.87 7.36 5.23 3.01 : Beulah : 86 35 348 530 0.58 1.24 3.46 10.52 Lake City : 87 32 339 500 0.33 1.05 2.81 8.97 Old Mission : 84 33 280 510 0.47 1.42 3.03 7.45 Pellston : 76 29 320 506 0.18 0.97 1.91 7.33 Northwest : 87 29 -2 307 493 350 0.42 1.20 2.98 8.13 5.17 2.61 : Alpena : 75 34 264 480 0.74 1.40 2.95 9.57 Houghton Lake : 87 36 366 530 0.18 0.48 2.48 8.70 Rogers City : 81 36 217 447 0.49 0.73 1.74 6.34 Northeast : 87 34 -2 299 508 326 0.42 0.94 2.16 8.30 5.17 2.76 : Fremont : 86 39 410 581 0.38 1.21 1.84 7.04 Hart : 85 35 360 536 0.55 0.81 1.66 5.89 Muskegon : 86 42 423 582 0.77 1.57 2.47 7.76 West Central : 88 31 -2 385 557 400 0.59 1.03 2.01 6.90 5.71 2.67 : Alma : 88 42 367 594 0.78 2.37 3.73 9.47 Big Rapids : 74 29 346 538 0.68 1.27 2.52 11.24 Central : 88 29 -3 372 567 436 0.72 1.62 3.14 8.82 5.76 2.79 : Bad Axe : 89 41 323 553 0.49 1.51 2.87 9.92 Pigeon : 86 41 338 561 0.41 1.24 1.82 7.68 Saginaw : 89 44 401 617 0.76 1.97 3.51 9.88 Standish : 84 41 327 539 0.62 1.73 2.39 9.52 East Central : 89 41 -3 329 563 417 0.96 1.97 3.67 10.00 5.08 2.63 : Fennville : 89 43 407 597 2.53 3.35 4.69 10.19 Grand Rapids : 89 45 466 654 1.68 2.80 4.70 11.98 Holland : 90 44 496 659 2.44 3.68 6.53 12.35 South Bend, IN : 89 49 508 662 3.37 3.88 7.64 15.09 Watervliet : 88 44 450 635 2.55 3.17 5.18 11.27 Southwest : 92 37 -1 454 639 471 2.32 3.04 5.07 11.16 6.23 3.01 : Belding : 87 41 400 579 1.15 2.03 3.77 10.48 Coldwater : 88 46 467 655 2.43 2.86 4.76 9.72 Lansing : 87 45 424 632 3.17 4.03 7.10 12.70 South Central : 89 41 -1 421 617 470 2.34 3.64 5.91 11.65 6.01 2.92 : Detroit : 89 47 488 678 2.70 3.69 4.68 10.98 Flint : 89 44 451 623 2.13 5.02 7.67 13.36 Romeo : 89 42 392 586 2.18 4.21 7.67 12.37 Tipton : 89 45 461 626 2.46 3.59 4.92 11.48 Toledo, OH : 89 45 446 701 2.69 3.72 5.65 10.81 Southeast : 93 42 1 445 641 447 2.56 3.64 5.60 10.91 5.97 2.85 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.