mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released September 6, 2011 Week Ending Date September 4, 2011 Issue MI-CW3611 Agricultural Summary Heat Wave Six days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ended September 4, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Precipitation ranged from 0.50 inches to 0.57 inches in the Upper Peninsula and 0.21 to 0.82 inches in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures ranged from 2 to 3 degrees above normal in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Cooler seasonable temperatures came at the end of the week after a few days of near record high temperatures. A few fields were drying up from the heat during the week. Rain is needed in some areas as crops continue toward maturity. Field Crops Report Field Crops Corn was in the R3 to R5 stages, with farmers reporting good ear fill. More growers began corn silage harvest over the weekend. Soybeans were in R5 to R6. Soybean aphids were still present, though at very low numbers. Grasshoppers, Japanese beetles and bean leaf beetles were present and feeding on leaves, though not at economic threshold levels. Deer feeding damage has also been reported. Alfalfa third cutting finished up in southeast Michigan. Dry beans were turning and dropping leaves in the southeast Lower Peninsula. Sugarbeets were maturing and growing well. Growers began to prepare for harvest, which is scheduled to begin September 14. Farmers prepared for upcoming wheat planting. Cover crops were planted at a rapid rate. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit The harvest of early season apple varieties continued. The Stanley plum harvest began. The blueberry harvest wound down. Yields have been below those in 2010. Late season peach harvest continued; Loring, Redkist and Blushingstar were among varieties picked. The Bartlett pear harvest continued. Early table grapes were harvested. Fall raspberry harvest continued. Raspberry acreage has increased in the state. Vegetables Processing broccoli harvest began. Carrot harvest continued. In the west central region, hot weather slowed sizing of the carrot crop. Bt varieties of sweet corn helped keep insect damage minimized. Cucumber harvest was winding down. Downy mildew pressure remained a concern. Onion harvest continued in full swing. Pepper and tomato harvest continued. Winter squash and pumpkins were maturing rapidly. Harvest of jack o'lanterns was expected to begin next weekend. Most zucchini growers completed harvest last week. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 09/04/11 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 12 19 62 7 Subsoil : 10 23 64 3 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 09/04/11 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 4 9 27 48 12 Barley : 1 9 61 26 3 Corn : 1 6 28 50 15 Dry beans : 0 11 20 44 25 Pasture : 12 11 32 40 5 Soybeans : 2 5 23 61 9 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 09/04/11 ---------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ---------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All hay, second cutting : 95 91 96 93 All hay, third cutting : 54 48 60 63 Apples, harvested : 9 7 20 26 Barley, harvested : 95 89 100 20 Blueberries, harvested : 94 91 100 96 Corn, dough : 88 76 97 88 Corn, dent : 44 19 83 58 Corn silage, harvested : 9 2 53 26 Dry beans, turning leaves : 84 20 89 70 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 5 1 69 43 Peaches, harvested : 75 49 89 71 Potatoes, harvested : 14 8 15 20 Soybeans, turning leaves : 6 2 47 28 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 0 0 13 6 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 09/04/11 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 : 84 46 1,893 2,052 0.52 0.73 1.19 13.99 Marquette : 85 47 1,839 1,998 0.59 0.64 0.93 14.46 Stephenson : 87 40 2,020 2,312 1.08 1.28 2.20 14.05 Western UP : 87 39 2 1,860 2,048 1,709 0.57 0.77 1.29 13.49 16.97 3.58 : Cornell : 90 43 1,978 2,215 0.39 0.87 1.38 12.32 Sault St Marie : 85 45 1,856 2,086 1.06 1.57 4.09 20.06 Eastern UP : 90 43 3 1,811 2,025 1,504 0.50 1.03 1.99 15.66 15.89 3.55 : Beulah : 88 50 2,200 2,435 0.87 1.39 1.87 20.94 Lake City : 90 43 2,101 2,289 0.56 1.19 1.91 19.47 Old Mission : 88 48 2,052 2,339 0.80 1.06 2.83 15.30 Pellston : 87 47 1,988 2,205 1.39 1.97 2.90 17.48 Northwest : 90 43 2 2,049 2,272 1,932 0.82 1.24 2.26 17.13 14.98 3.66 : Alpena : 92 47 2,018 2,261 1.18 1.41 3.77 20.66 Houghton Lake : 90 47 2,229 2,411 0.35 0.77 2.20 16.85 Rogers City : 91 46 1,889 2,139 0.90 1.06 2.28 14.81 Northeast : 92 46 3 2,066 2,300 1,872 0.73 1.10 2.75 17.65 15.01 3.47 : Fremont : 89 44 2,346 2,589 0.17 0.17 0.45 15.91 Hart : 92 39 2,223 2,495 0.68 0.68 2.00 15.15 Muskegon : 90 51 2,588 2,838 0.37 0.97 5.41 21.20 West Central : 92 39 2 2,411 2,591 2,105 0.47 0.75 2.51 17.94 15.36 3.19 : Alma : 90 52 2,340 2,671 0.19 1.64 3.59 25.31 Big Rapids : 90 48 2,219 2,495 0.66 2.24 4.35 28.07 Central : 90 47 2 2,298 2,572 2,175 0.48 2.08 3.93 22.55 16.29 3.09 : Bad Axe : 95 54 2,267 2,547 0.79 1.27 3.25 22.25 Pigeon : 92 53 2,231 2,496 0.19 0.29 2.48 16.85 Saginaw : 93 53 2,522 2,794 0.25 0.83 2.03 20.34 Standish : 93 48 2,155 2,449 0.10 0.67 3.68 21.85 East Central : 97 48 2 2,248 2,569 2,173 0.36 0.72 2.60 20.53 14.50 2.70 : Fennville : 91 47 2,395 2,659 0.12 0.24 1.59 20.93 Grand Rapids : 91 51 2,687 2,925 0.20 0.68 2.69 26.71 Holland : 93 51 3,481 2,899 0.29 0.45 1.71 27.73 South Bend, IN : 95 50 2,811 2,958 0.17 0.24 1.16 24.74 Watervliet : 92 48 2,580 2,820 0.19 0.47 1.92 22.61 Southwest : 95 44 2 2,618 2,807 2,362 0.21 0.53 2.08 23.27 16.63 3.26 : Belding : 88 46 2,360 2,589 0.12 0.44 3.80 22.01 Coldwater : 93 47 2,606 2,828 1.06 1.31 1.58 16.85 Lansing : 91 53 2,546 2,843 0.03 0.85 2.07 22.33 South Central : 93 42 2 2,462 2,733 2,326 0.29 0.94 2.26 22.45 16.64 2.79 : Detroit : 98 56 2,836 3,045 0.15 0.56 0.96 21.92 Flint : 95 53 2,593 2,809 0.15 0.35 1.23 23.90 Romeo : 97 50 2,473 2,692 0.05 0.26 1.20 19.03 Tipton : 96 51 2,579 2,753 0.47 1.13 1.94 20.65 Toledo, OH : 92 53 2,612 3,027 0.35 0.72 1.75 19.11 Southeast : 107 6 2 2,560 2,844 2,321 0.30 0.84 1.74 19.80 16.00 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.