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Michigan Ag News Headlines |
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Hot Weather Advances Michigan Apple Crop
Michigan Ag Connection - 09/26/2017
There were 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork in Michigan during the week ending Sunday, according to Marlo Johnson, Director of the Great Lakes Regional Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Dry conditions and record high temperatures
continued to impact crops throughout the State this week. While the unseasonable temperatures assisted many crops in maturing and dry down, rainfall was needed to replenish soil moisture and aid in remaining crop development. A minor rain shower moved
across the State mid-week, but total accumulation was not enough to be impactful.
In many areas the corn crop began to dry down, as extreme heat and dry conditions pushed the crop to a quick maturity. Corn silage harvest continued, as well as sugarbeet harvest.
Many soybeans fields were rapidly dropping leaves and harvest was proceeding in many areas.
Some wheat planting occurred, however, producers may be holding off for some additional precipitation to supplement soil moisture levels. Hay cutting continued, although some fields were stagnant due to lack of rain.
Pastures were beginning to turn brown and some producers started feeding hay to livestock.
The week's hot weather advanced apple maturity significantly, but raised concerns about fruit finish and posed challenges for those wanting to prepare apples to enter controlled atmosphere storage. The prevailing dry conditions allowed apple growers to keep
up with harvest tasks fairly well this week. In the Northwest, growers were harvesting McIntosh in earnest. Gala harvest continued on the Ridge in the Grand Rapids area while the first picking of Honeycrisp was in full swing in the West Central region. In the
Southwest, Honeycrisp picking was nearly over, with Empire underway and Golden Delicious starting in some sites. In the Southeast, growers were starting to harvest Jonathan, Jonagold, and Golden Delicious, while Gala harvest was wrapping up. In grapes,
Niagara and hybrid wine grape harvest continued in the Southwest, while in the Northwest, wine grapes were proceeding normally through veraison.
Carrot and potato harvest continued across major growing regions as weather allowed. Abnormally warm weather was a concern for growers across the State. This will be the last vegetable report for the 2017 growing season.
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