mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released April 17, 2012 Week Ending Date April 15, 2012 Issue MI-CW1612 Agricultural Summary Field Crops Report Field Crops Six days were suitable for field work last week. Growers progressed in preparing fields to plant. Sugarbeet planting was nearly complete. Emergence was slow due to lack of rain. Oat planting continued. Corn planting on light ground continued on a limited basis. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit Fruit development was slow, as normal early April weather prevailed. Cold, windy conditions reduced honeybee activity. Insect pest infestation was inconsequential. Temperatures in the twenties April 12 caused more frost damage. On most juice grape farms in the southwest, all primary buds are dead. Many growers will probably not have enough grapes to make harvesting economically feasible. Wine grape damage varied by variety and age of vines. There has been widespread tart cherry damage across the state. The reduction in crop potential has not yet been assessed. Sweet cherries were mostly in full bloom. There has been substantial crop reduction in some orchards. Peaches generally have been unscathed by recent frosts. Some bud damage in pears, however, was noted. Strawberries with emerged flower trusses may have sustained some freeze damage. Apples were in early bloom to king bloom. Some flowers were killed, especially on early varieties. Blueberries were in early to late pink bud; no significant bud damage has been reported. Plums ranged from in shuck to petal fall. Vegetables Cooler, seasonable weather slowed vegetable fieldwork since the warm streak experienced earlier in the year. Asparagus harvest that had begun in the Southwest has mainly come to a halt. Asparagus harvest in the West Central was not yet ready to begin. Onion planting continued. Celery planting continued under frost protection. Planting of carrots for processing began this past week. Other vegetable crops were planted under protection. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 04/15/12 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 5 24 65 6 Subsoil : 2 17 75 6 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 04/15/12 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Pasture : 4 12 36 44 4 Winter Wheat : 1 6 26 54 13 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 04/15/12 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ----------------------------------------------------------------- : Days : Days Suitable for Fieldwork : 6 6 -- -- : : Percent : Corn, planted : 5 3 0 1 Oats, planted : 70 46 11 25 Oats, emerged : 23 11 2 5 Sugarbeets, planted : 98 85 9 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 04/15/12 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2012 :2011 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 70 21 39 32 0.55 0.71 1.05 0.72 Marquette : 72 20 33 34 0.84 1.19 1.54 1.19 Stephenson : 75 22 65 40 0.02 0.13 0.32 0.13 Western UP : 75 19 4 47 32 20 0.48 0.64 0.91 0.64 1.04 2.28 : Cornell : 69 25 29 26 0.14 0.38 0.63 0.38 Sault St Marie : 63 27 25 17 0.52 0.66 1.22 0.66 Eastern UP : 71 23 5 30 20 6 0.20 0.44 0.73 0.44 1.12 2.43 : Beulah : 69 22 57 50 0.99 1.14 1.86 1.14 Lake City : 72 22 70 43 0.48 0.53 1.63 0.53 Old Mission : 71 24 44 45 0.21 0.41 1.10 0.41 Pellston : 67 19 46 44 0.15 0.20 0.78 0.20 Northwest : 72 19 5 49 43 25 0.38 0.53 1.23 0.53 1.26 2.69 : Alpena : 74 20 42 33 0.37 0.44 0.59 0.44 Houghton Lake : 70 25 67 47 0.59 0.72 1.14 0.72 Rogers City : 68 24 24 17 0.06 0.12 0.21 0.12 Northeast : 74 19 5 50 35 23 0.38 0.44 0.61 0.44 1.21 2.52 : Fremont : 70 25 78 55 1.03 1.21 2.18 1.21 Hart : 69 24 63 54 1.02 1.32 1.90 1.32 Muskegon : 72 29 70 53 1.03 1.65 3.17 1.65 West Central : 72 23 4 66 53 35 0.75 1.13 2.12 1.13 1.33 3.16 : Alma : 73 29 73 38 1.13 1.18 1.96 1.18 Big Rapids : 66 26 67 35 0.14 0.33 1.87 0.33 Central : 73 26 4 73 42 39 0.62 0.77 1.92 0.77 1.23 3.07 : Bad Axe : 72 27 49 41 0.32 0.32 0.57 0.32 Pigeon : 72 27 52 43 0.11 0.11 0.38 0.13 Saginaw : 73 29 76 52 0.78 0.79 1.32 0.79 Standish : 72 29 65 41 0.37 0.38 1.35 0.38 East Central : 73 26 4 57 43 39 0.43 0.44 0.96 0.44 1.06 2.55 : Fennville : 73 28 74 65 0.98 1.34 2.43 1.34 Grand Rapids : 74 32 84 67 1.27 1.94 3.49 1.94 Holland : 72 31 51 102 1.61 1.85 3.02 1.85 South Bend, IN : 76 27 103 91 0.58 0.61 1.20 0.62 Watervliet : 74 29 87 70 1.09 1.32 2.30 1.32 Southwest : 76 25 3 84 71 49 1.21 1.49 2.44 1.49 1.44 3.41 : Belding : 73 27 78 53 0.66 0.89 2.37 0.89 Coldwater : 76 25 86 66 0.55 0.62 1.84 0.62 Lansing : 74 29 76 59 1.18 1.36 2.71 1.36 South Central : 76 25 3 77 56 49 0.86 1.19 2.81 1.19 1.36 3.19 : Detroit : 79 33 81 62 0.84 1.03 2.37 1.03 Flint : 76 26 83 60 0.61 0.63 1.36 0.63 Romeo : 78 27 82 48 1.07 1.07 1.59 1.07 Tipton : 78 25 80 60 0.35 0.61 2.58 0.61 Toledo, OH : 78 29 79 58 0.64 0.78 1.57 0.78 Southeast : 81 23 3 80 57 44 0.64 0.82 1.79 0.82 1.42 3.21 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.