Mi-crop-weather State Michigan Crop Weather Released May 9, 2005 Week Ending Date May 8, 2005 Issue MI-CW2005 Agricultural Summary Planting Progress Ahead of Normal Six days were suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 8, according to the USDA-NASS-Michigan Statistical Office. A majority of the State remained abnormally dry. Below normal temperatures in the Lower Peninsula continued to hinder the emergence of crops in the field. Precipitation amounts ranged from 0.02 inches in the central Lower Peninsula to 0.36 inches in the western Upper Peninsula. Average temperatures ranged from normal in the Upper Peninsula to 6 degrees below normal in the southwestern Lower Peninsula. Weather conditions remained diverse for farmers in the Lower Peninsula. Producers in the western Lower Peninsula noted, "Things don't look too bad but we desperately need moisture," and "we could use an all day soaker." A farmer in the eastern Lower Peninsula commented, "The air temperature finally warmed up and field conditions dried up for fieldwork to continue." Field Crops Report Cool, dry weather continued across the State. Early week frost did minor damage to field crops. Planting was ahead of normal for most crops with warmer temperatures and additional precipitation needed to improve emergence. Barley and corn planting continued and was well ahead of previous years. Soybean planting also continued to progress nicely but with little or no emergence due to low soil temperatures. Sugarbeets began to emerge. There have been reports of minor damage from frost. Alfalfa growth was slow under cool conditions and the crop could use some rain. Winter wheat stands were highly variable across the State. There have been reports of yellow colored wheat due to poor weather conditions. Oat planting was completed and fields looked good. Fruit Report Tree fruits were typically 3 to 7 days ahead of normal development, depending on location. Most varieties of apples were in full bloom last week in the southwest. Growers remained concerned about the possible effects of recent freezing temperatures on the crop's potential. In the Ridge area, bloom was underway on early varieties of apples, which showed varying degrees of freeze damage. In the west central, apples have reached the pink stage. In the northwest, apples were in pre-pink to pink. Cherries seem to have tolerated the recent freezing temperatures better than apples, however pollination is of concern. In the southwest, tart cherries continued blooming while sweet cherries showed good growth. In the Ridge area, sweet cherries continued blooming and showed some petal fall. In the west central, tart cherries were in the popcorn stage, and sweet cherries were in full bloom. Tart cherries were in popcorn stage in the northwest. In the southeast, tart cherries were in full bloom, and sweet cherries were at petal fall. Peaches had reached petal fall in the Ridge area and were entering petal fall in the west central. In the southwest, blueberries were at pink stage, and leaves had unfolded. In the southeast, there was some bloom occurring in blueberries. Vegetables Report Vegetable growers' planting activities were progressing steadily for much of the State. However, in some areas the winter-like conditions of low temperatures slowed the planting process and limited crop development. Some growers continued irrigating for germination, because many areas in the region have had little rainfall. Due to the freezing temperatures in some areas, damage was caused to the emerged asparagus. In some areas, it appears that asparagus will finally start harvest season after a long delay. Some damage was also caused to emerged sweet corn. Soil Moisture and Crop Condition Tables Soil moisture for week ending 05/08/05 --------------------------------------------- : Very : : : Stratum : short : Short :Adequate:Surplus --------------------------------------------- : Percent : Topsoil : 14 31 53 2 Subsoil : 7 29 58 6 --------------------------------------------- Crop condition for week ending 05/08/05 ----------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Pasture : 0 12 38 41 9 Winter Wheat : 3 4 24 61 8 ----------------------------------------------------------- Crop progress for week ending 05/08/05 ------------------------------------------------------------ : This : Last : Last :5-year Crop : week : week : year :average ------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Asparagus, harvested : 12 10 16 18 Barley, planted : 72 70 66 65 Barley, emerged : 38 23 46 44 Corn, planted : 62 36 57 42 Corn, emerged : 3 1 9 6 Oats, planted : 94 89 87 80 Oats, emerged : 69 34 61 52 Potatoes, planted : 56 21 30 29 Potatoes, emerged : 1 0 3 NA Soybeans, planted : 25 8 21 15 ------------------------------------------------------------ Contact Information U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Michigan Statistical 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 05/08/05 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :Cumulative growing: : Temperature : degree days 2/ : Precipitation :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : : Normal Station : : :Departure: : : :This:Last :Last : Since :------------- :Maximum :Minimum : from :2005 :2004 :Normal:week: two :four :April 1: Since : For : : : normal : : : : :weeks:weeks: :April 1:month ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ironwood : 73 27 187 109 0.33 0.41 0.49 1.12 Marquette : 76 26 151 77 0.15 0.77 1.42 2.52 Stephenson : 71 24 172 176 0.23 0.40 0.67 1.50 Western UP : 78 22 0 161 101 119 0.36 0.59 0.86 1.58 3.11 3.37 : Cornell : 68 26 141 97 0.19 1.11 1.39 1.52 Sault St Marie : 66 27 119 30 0.49 0.76 1.16 1.73 Eastern UP : 73 23 0 130 57 65 0.31 0.80 1.27 1.76 3.33 3.01 : Beulah : 82 31 237 141 0.02 0.42 1.33 1.33 Lake City : 76 21 199 144 0.15 0.32 1.19 1.20 Old Mission : 81 27 190 105 0.06 0.36 1.25 1.25 Pellston : 78 19 169 114 0.10 0.24 1.32 1.42 Northwest : 82 19 -2 189 118 147 0.09 0.33 1.25 1.27 3.43 2.61 : Alpena : 68 21 130 118 0.30 0.70 1.94 2.02 Houghton Lake : 76 22 201 157 0.09 0.15 0.71 0.77 Rogers City : 73 21 172 118 0.21 0.46 1.47 1.53 Northeast : 76 18 -3 178 140 134 0.19 0.42 1.42 1.48 3.34 2.76 : Fremont : 81 24 249 214 0.07 0.16 0.47 0.47 Hart : 79 33 229 175 0.00 0.18 0.67 0.71 Muskegon : 78 29 233 198 0.05 0.26 0.48 0.48 West Central : 81 24 -2 235 188 177 0.04 0.20 0.47 0.48 3.80 2.67 : Alma : 78 25 239 235 0.03 0.21 0.68 0.68 Big Rapids : 78 25 237 213 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Central : 79 24 -4 238 224 196 0.02 0.16 0.52 0.52 3.86 2.79 : Bad Axe : 74 29 182 172 0.25 0.64 1.99 1.99 Pigeon : 78 29 159 164 0.16 0.53 1.00 1.02 Saginaw : 75 26 183 211 0.28 0.58 1.63 1.65 Standish : 74 25 182 194 0.13 0.44 1.49 1.50 East Central : 78 25 -4 170 190 186 0.20 0.52 1.53 1.54 3.23 2.63 : Fennville : 82 29 262 207 0.08 0.14 0.68 0.70 Grand Rapids : 81 26 256 271 0.19 0.32 0.99 1.00 Holland : 82 31 256 224 0.08 0.28 0.90 0.90 South Bend, IN : 83 26 296 301 0.00 0.07 0.99 1.03 Watervliet : 83 27 278 254 0.10 0.22 0.87 0.89 Southwest : 85 25 -4 275 265 221 0.09 0.21 0.90 0.92 4.00 3.01 : Belding : 79 30 248 235 0.07 0.22 1.30 1.30 Coldwater : 79 25 243 247 0.07 0.00 0.80 0.81 Lansing : 77 29 256 252 0.12 0.18 1.17 1.18 South Central : 81 25 -5 256 265 221 0.08 0.19 0.81 0.82 3.81 2.92 : Detroit : 73 31 242 265 0.04 0.50 1.58 1.81 Flint : 75 23 233 260 0.07 0.23 1.37 1.37 Romeo : 74 27 221 236 0.00 0.82 1.98 2.25 Tipton : 76 25 257 256 0.01 0.43 1.36 1.43 Toledo, OH : 77 25 248 293 0.01 0.59 2.26 2.43 Southeast : 79 21 -6 239 261 206 0.06 0.48 1.97 2.13 3.81 2.85 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Issued by the Federal/State Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Michigan State University's 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.