Last week brought varied weather patterns. In general, West Michigan benefited from several rain events while Southeast Michigan saw a lack of moisture, according to Marlo D. Johnson, director of the Great Lakes Regional Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. There were 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Michigan during the week ending Sunday.
According to the latest US Drought Monitor, counties in the Southeast Lower Peninsula, and Central Lower Peninsula were abnormally dry and counties in East Central Michigan and the Thumb Region were in moderate drought.
Oat harvest was wrapping up and dry bean development picked up pace. Sugarbeet harvest began. Corn continued to mature nicely, and soybeans greened up due to rain events. It was a great week for making alfalfa and other hay, and the third cutting progressed ahead of average. Pest and disease activity held off throughout most of the season reducing the amount of damage to crops. Other activities during the week included spraying pesticides, hauling manure, and preparing for winter wheat planting.
Farmers throughout Michigan began to prepare for full scale apple harvest. McIntosh and Jonathan for caramel apples were harvested in the Southwest, Gala harvest was anticipated to begin there soon. On the Ridge, Paula Red, Ginger Gold and McIntosh were harvested. Gala harvest was delayed somewhat from normal. Peach harvest continued; Cresthaven, PF28-007 and Gloria were harvested in the Southwest.
Michigan vegetable producers continued to harvest their crops, with many of their vegetables beginning to hit the market. Pumpkins were sizing up nicely, and second plantings of pickles, cucumbers, and summer squash were nearing harvest on some farms. Heat stress earlier in the year had made harvesting of lettuce and herbs difficult, but regular harvest was starting to pick up again. Tomato harvest was also ramping up, although some fields experienced difficulties with disease and pest presence. Potato yields were average to slightly above average, while this year's sweet corn crop was reported to be excellent. In the West Central region, growers were spreading rye cover crop seed over their asparagus fields, with recent rains helping to germinate the rye.
Categories: Michigan, Harvesting