Window Opens for Harvest of Corn Silage, Hay, Apples
Published: Friday, September 21, 2018
The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending Sept. 16.
Most of the regions across the State experienced warm, dry weather. Corn continued to mature at a faster pace due to the heat.
Corn intended for grain was cut for silage in some areas where conditions were poor.
Soybeans continued to drop leaves, and crop conditions were reported to be looking better as a result of the rainfall the last few weeks.
The heat and dry weather allowed the corn silage harvest to get underway. Fields were dry enough to allow farmers to get on them, and as a result the harvest neared 50 percent completion.
The sugarbeet harvest also continued. Spotters noticed that the warm, humid weather caused some fungicide pressure in some fields.
Pastures continued to improve, and the third cutting of hay continued.
Other activities included the spraying of herbicides and pesticides. There were 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork.
Fruit
Apple maturity advanced at a rapid rate last week. Gala, McIntosh for processing, and Honeycrisp was harvested in the west central. Water core in susceptible varieties has been low this year.
Gala, Honeycrisp and early Fuji and early McIntosh were harvested in the East. Gala, Honeycrisp, and early Fuji were harvested in the southwest.
Vegetables
Carrots in the west central region were making good progress although foliar disease pressure was reportedly high.
Cherry tomatoes, peppers, kales and summer squash were being harvested and going to Flint area farmers markets. Vine crops in the East were under high disease pressure.
Potato harvest was ongoing across major growing regions.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 5 percent; short, 13 percent; adequate, 75 percent; surplus, 7 percent.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2017 and 5-year average) showed: corn doughed, 95, 90, 91, 93; corn dented, 80, 67, 72, 71; corn mature, 26,13, 15, 19; corn harvested for grain 1, 0, 3, 1: corn harvested for silage, 47, 26, 24, 20; soybeans dropping leaves, 38, 21, 40, 34; winter wheat planted, 3, 1, 2, NA; dry beans dropping leaves, 69, 47, 54, 64: dry beans harvested, 3, 0, NA, NA: alfalfa hay, third cutting, 80, 68, 70, NA; other hay, third cutting, 51, 57, 51, 47, NA; sugarbeets harvested, 8, 12, 10, 8..
Return to Top of Page