Vegetables Are Hitting the Market
Published: Friday, September 22, 2023
The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending Sept. 17.
Last week's cool temperatures and scattered rainfall slowed row crop maturity.
There were 5.5 days suitable for fieldwork.
Soybeans and corn for grain harvests began. Barley and oat harvests were nearly wrapped up while winter wheat planting was underway.
In the southeast Lower Peninsula, cutting and baling hay was difficult due to fog and heavy dew in the mornings.
Other activities last week included spraying for insects and diseases, planting cover crops, tending to livestock and preparing for harvest season.
Fruit
Weather over the past week was cool with a mix of rain and sun. Apples have been maturing faster than anticipated.
In the Southwest, farmers were finishing up Gala harvest. Honeycrisp and Jonagold were maturing quickly. Recent rains have slowed harvesting efforts.
In the West Central, farmers began harvesting early Gala varieties. Honeycrisp was rapidly maturing. Empire was still immature. McIntosh strains like Jonamac, RubyMac and standard McIntosh were at a similar stage of maturity and were harvested for mid-term storage.
In the Northwest, McIntosh and Gala were ripening ahead of normal but at a slower pace than Honeycrisp. Ginger Gold harvest was complete there.
Vegetables
Cooler temperatures heralded the on-set of autumn as the Michigan vegetable season was wrapping up. Growers took advantage of the favorable weather conditions to make substantial harvest progress.
Among the vegetables being harvested were pumpkins, tomatoes and winter squash.
Harvest of potatoes was also underway, with no cases of late blight having been reported in Michigan to date. Many vegetables were hitting the market, with cucumber supply reportedly light.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 2%; short, 12%; adequate, 73%; surplus, 13%.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 3%; short, 17%; adequate, 72%; surplus, 8%.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2022 and five-year average) showed: corn dough, 96, 89, 100, 95; corn dented, 71, 58, 79, 73; corn mature, 19, 10, 22, 25; corn harvested for grain, 1, 0, 2, 1; corn harvested for silage, 37, 23, 38, 44; soybeans dropping leaves, 33, 13, 51, 48; soybeans harvested, 1, 0, 2, 1; winter wheat planted, 3, 0, 4, 6; barley harvested, 97, 92, 93, 89; dry edible beans dropping leaves, 80, 50, 90, 79; dry edible beans harvested, 7, NA, 8, 11; alfalfa hay, third cutting, 88, 83, 92, 82; alfalfa hay, fourth cutting, 54, 42, 43, NA; other hay, third cutting, 68, 58, 75, 58; oats harvested, 98, 82, 100, 97; sugarbeets harvested, 7, 3, 10, 15.
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