Michigan Has a Dry Week, with First Frost Reported
Published: Friday, September 25, 2020
The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending Sept. 20.
The state experienced generally drier and cooler conditions over the past week. There were 6.2 days suitable for fieldwork.
Cooler daytime conditions were accompanied by very low nighttime temperatures, resulting in the first frosts of the season. The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that approximately 18 percent of the state was experiencing abnormally dry conditions, unchanged from the previous week.
Pasture and range conditions held steady despite cold and dry weather.
Corn and soybean conditions improved, although there were some reports of crop damage due to the hard frost. The extent of damage was mostly dependent on crop stage and maturity.
Corn silage harvest continued to progress as conditions for chopping were nearly ideal.
Sugarbeet harvest continued as weather allowed.
Hay growth slowed slightly although harvest progress was still made in areas where conditions allowed.
Other activities included seeding winter wheat and cover crops, installing and replacing drainage tile, and preparing crop storage infrastructure for harvest.
Fruit
Apple harvest was in full swing in lower Michigan. Wooly apple aphid continued to be troublesome. Gala, Empire, Jonathan, McIntosh and Honeycrisp were all harvested, with some farms finishing up their Gala harvest. Color on Gala was very good.
Growers in the Southwest harvested Golden Delicious for processing.
Vegetables
As fieldwork activities were beginning to slow down, growers took advantage of clear weather to harvest in the morning and remove stakes, string and plastic in the afternoon.
Pumpkin and winter squash harvest continued, with some growers picking for covered storage to preserve the crop for fall sales. Local sales of pumpkins, gourds and fall squash continued.
In the East, carrot harvest was ongoing. Potato harvest also continued in major growing areas. No Phytophthora infestans (late blight) had been reported yet this season in Michigan. Predicted risk had remained medium across the state.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 5 percent; short, 24 percent; adequate, 67 percent; surplus, 4 percent.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 8 percent; short, 32 percent; adequate, 55 percent; surplus, 5 percent.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2019 and 5-year average) showed: corn dough, 99, 96, 85, 94; corn dented, 91, 78, 50, 76; corn mature, 37, 19, 7, 26; corn harvested for silage, 73, 52, 15, 37; soybeans dropping leaves, 71, 36, 30, 47; soybeans harvested, 1, 0, 1, 1; winter wheat planted, 9, 3, 8, 7; barley harvested, 100, 88, 74, NA; dry beans dropping leaves, 93, 68, 67, 72; dry beans mature, 40, 17, NA, NA; dry beans harvested, 8, 0, NA, NA; alfalfa hay, third cutting, 89, 84, 64, 76; alfalfa hay, fourth cutting, 43, 28, NA, NA; other hay, second cutting, 100, 95, 87, NA; other hay, third cutting, 53, 47, 32, 53; other hay, fourth cutting, 10, 6, NA, NA; sugarbeets harvested, 25, 18, 7, 13.
Return to Top of Page