mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released August 27, 2012 Week Ending Date August 26, 2012 Issue MI-CW3512 Agricultural Summary Field Crops Seven days were suitable for field work last week. Warm and dry weather returned this week. In west central Michigan, the majority of the corn crop was in the late milk stage to early dough stage with a few fields at dent. Soybeans were filling pods. Dry beans were starting to turn, and are a week or more away from harvest. Japanese beetles were present, but below threshold levels. Alfalfa cutting was progressing as many producers took a third or fourth cutting. Potato harvest continued in central Michigan. Few fields were remaining with actively growing vines. Fruit Grape veraison continued, and berry size increased. The juice grape harvest will begin in early September; the harvest will move quickly due to light yields. Late season peach varieties like PF28-007, Fayette, and Harcrest were harvested. Some early fall apples, such as Sweetango were picked; Gala harvest will start this week. Apple size in the northwest has been reduced by the lack of rainfall. Blueberry harvesting was complete in southern counties; late season harvesting continued in Oceana, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties. Spotted winged Drosophila has caused quality problems. Fall raspberry harvest continued; yield and quality have been very good in the Grand Rapids area. Pears ranged from 54 mm in the northwest to 3 inches in the southwest. Plums were picked in the southwest. Vegetables Vegetable crop harvests continued across the State; however, fruit development and ripening have slowed due to cooler weather. Cool nights have limited fruit elongation in some peppers in the southwest region. Recent rains in the southwest region have led to some fruit cracking in tomatoes, while tomato plantings in the central region not protected by fungicide applications were succumbing to early blight. Fruit scarring was observed in cucumbers in the southwest region, while cucurbit downy mildew was confirmed in nine Michigan counties. Pumpkin fruit in the southeast region was ripening; however, occurrence of powdery mildew increased in pumpkin and squash crops throughout the state due in part to recent, heavy dews. Special Note: NASS is currently conducting our annual September surveys on crops and livestock. In the first two weeks of September, NASS is surveying U.S. small grains growers for final production. We are also asking hog producers about their summer pig crop, next year's farrowing intentions, and current inventory. The responses will provide the foundation for 2012 production estimates. All participating farmers should respond. Your information matters! Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 08/26/12 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 16 32 51 1 Subsoil : 30 32 37 1 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 08/26/12 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : All Hay : 18 24 27 28 3 Corn : 21 24 26 26 3 Dry beans : 9 11 30 45 5 Pasture : 19 19 35 24 3 Soybeans : 13 23 28 31 5 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 08/26/12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last : 5-year Crop : week : week : year : average ------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Days : Days Suitable for Fieldwork : 7 5 -- -- : : Percent : All hay, second cutting : 95 92 90 92 All hay, third cutting : 56 48 45 46 All hay, fourth cutting : 6 3 0 2 Corn, dough : 83 73 71 74 Corn, dent : 40 26 14 30 Corn, mature : 8 2 0 3 Dry beans, turning leaves : 28 4 14 25 Dry beans, dropping leaves : 1 0 1 6 Soybeans, setting pods : 97 95 95 96 Soybeans, turning leaves : 15 2 1 5 Soybeans, dropping leaves : 1 0 0 0 Sugarbeets, harvested : 0 0 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 08/26/12 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 : 89 43 1,878 1,748 0.34 0.98 1.41 13.22 Marquette : 88 46 1,830 1,693 0.47 1.83 2.33 14.66 Stephenson : 93 41 2,107 1,860 0.56 1.86 1.96 11.92 Western UP : 93 34 4 1,910 1,682 1,568 0.36 1.07 1.48 12.27 15.63 3.69 : Cornell : 91 43 2,037 1,868 0.20 0.36 1.06 11.04 Sault St Marie : 90 46 1,898 1,691 0.51 1.62 2.25 10.64 Eastern UP : 91 43 5 1,895 1,667 1,369 0.30 1.37 1.88 12.42 14.74 3.53 : Beulah : 94 48 2,221 2,031 0.03 0.35 1.07 12.51 Lake City : 89 40 2,076 1,934 0.22 0.59 2.11 19.82 Old Mission : 96 45 2,105 1,882 0.00 0.37 0.73 12.47 Pellston : 93 40 1,973 1,822 0.17 0.41 1.94 12.76 Northwest : 96 39 5 2,053 1,884 1,768 0.09 0.58 1.38 13.84 13.77 3.11 : Alpena : 91 44 2,057 1,848 0.16 1.01 2.75 12.73 Houghton Lake : 88 38 2,180 2,044 0.56 0.96 2.66 16.68 Rogers City : 93 50 1,961 1,720 0.31 0.53 2.50 11.54 Northeast : 93 37 3 2,035 1,893 1,715 0.31 0.84 2.50 13.85 13.85 3.12 : Fremont : 89 46 2,299 2,162 0.46 1.24 1.84 11.78 Hart : 91 47 2,218 2,042 0.17 0.80 2.08 12.72 Muskegon : 89 51 2,495 2,376 0.14 0.58 2.26 11.86 West Central : 91 42 2 2,274 2,130 1,928 0.24 0.88 2.16 12.22 14.19 3.60 : Alma : 90 50 2,273 2,156 0.02 0.81 6.33 19.98 Big Rapids : 90 34 2,180 2,038 0.00 0.48 5.67 20.72 Central : 90 34 1 2,237 2,108 2,000 0.07 0.60 5.16 17.06 15.07 3.64 : Bad Axe : 90 50 2,211 2,076 0.66 0.86 6.04 13.17 Pigeon : 90 48 2,151 2,055 0.17 0.66 1.25 6.38 Saginaw : 90 52 2,470 2,322 0.19 0.85 10.02 20.87 Standish : 89 51 2,254 1,988 0.20 0.64 4.75 13.82 East Central : 90 48 2 2,220 2,106 1,993 0.30 0.78 5.47 14.20 13.60 2.93 : Fennville : 90 47 2,310 2,203 0.12 0.82 3.46 11.94 Grand Rapids : 92 51 2,606 2,479 0.22 0.81 3.80 13.66 Holland : 88 52 2,385 3,226 0.51 1.14 4.27 12.41 South Bend, IN : 90 52 2,716 2,596 1.61 2.95 5.68 17.71 Watervliet : 91 50 2,463 2,382 0.58 1.39 3.50 12.26 Southwest : 94 43 1 2,439 2,419 2,163 0.47 1.16 3.62 12.76 15.67 3.18 : Belding : 89 45 2,287 2,171 0.03 0.37 3.64 11.00 Coldwater : 90 48 2,529 2,418 0.01 0.78 3.23 8.83 Lansing : 91 50 2,523 2,351 0.11 0.41 4.29 12.28 South Central : 92 45 1 2,387 2,287 2,136 0.17 0.64 4.14 12.50 15.69 3.36 : Detroit : 90 57 2,760 2,610 0.11 0.70 1.77 10.70 Flint : 91 49 2,516 2,396 0.44 0.89 3.36 15.96 Romeo : 89 49 2,382 2,290 0.21 0.43 2.90 13.60 Tipton : 95 52 2,433 2,389 0.38 1.06 2.63 8.70 Toledo, OH : 90 52 2,496 2,418 0.25 0.82 2.55 10.58 Southeast : 95 43 1 2,465 2,409 2,127 0.26 0.79 2.72 11.74 15.16 3.12 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.