Farmers Concerned About Drought
Published: Friday, April 23, 2021
The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending April 18.
The state experienced a few rain showers accompanied by brief dips into colder temperatures. There were 3.9 days suitable for fieldwork.
Winter wheat condition showed a slight improvement with a reported 73 percent of the crop rated in good to excellent condition; despite cooler temperatures the crop has shown significant growth.
Oat and barley seeding continued to make fairly rapid progress as generally drier conditions allowed for fieldwork.
Sugarbeet producers continued planting efforts as early seeded beets began to emerge.
Corn and soybean growers began planting as conditions allowed. There has been a general concern amongst many producers that a lack of moisture going forward may cause germination problems.
Other activities included equipment preparation, spring tillage, and crop marketing.
Fruit
Weather last week returned to a more normal spring pattern with cooler temperatures and rain. This slowed fruit development.
Tart cherries in the Northwest were in green tip to bud burst. In the Southwest, tarts were at first white.
Apples were in tight cluster in the Northwest. In the Grand Rapids area, apples were between tight cluster to first pink and at early to full pink in the Southwest.
There was some damage to king bloom on apples in the Southwest from early April freeze events.
Growers in the Northwest applied dormant sprays ahead of storms. Because of long, lingering wetting events, conditions were good for apple scab infection.
Blueberries in the West Central suffered no negative effects from the winter. Blueberry growth ranged from tight cluster to half-inch green there. In the Southwest, blueberry flower buds had burst and were at tight cluster.
Peaches in the Southwest were blooming. There appeared to be little damage to peaches from early April freeze events or from the winter.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 1 percent; short, 12 percent; adequate, 75 percent; surplus, 12 percent.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 3 percent; short, 13 percent; adequate, 75 percent; surplus, 9 percent.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2020 and 5-year average) showed: corn planted, 2, 1, 0, 0; soybeans planted, 1, 0, 0, 0; winter wheat jointing, 40, 15, 12, 8; barley planted, 19, 5, 1, 0; barley emerged, 1, 0, 0, 0; oats planted, 47, 26, 19, 9; oats emerged, 23, 2, 0, 0; sugarbeets planted, 60, 46, 37, 11; sugarbeets emerged, 14, NA, 4, 1.
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