Potato Planting Begins in Area
Published: Friday, April 26, 2024
The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending April 21.
Dry weather early in the week provided the opportunity for producers to continue fieldwork. There were 3 days suitable for fieldwork.
Oats planted tracked with historical averages. Temperatures in the Thumb remained favorable for sugarbeet planting.
Potato planting was well underway in the southern Lower Peninsula, with approximately half of the crop in the Southwest already planted.
Many farmers were prepared for planting and will begin full-scale planting as soon as fields dry out and temperatures consistently stay warm.
Other activities last week included manure hauling, herbicide and fertilizer applications, and tilling.
Fruit
Growers continued to plant trees, chop brush, prune trees and put on cover sprays. Temperatures were warm and sunny over the past few days, and this helped move along crop phenology.
Warm, sunny days increased pollinator activity. Commercial honeybee and bumble bee hives will soon begin arriving.
Even with the warmer weather, farmers were mindful of the possibility of frost and the continued chance of rain meant that disease risk was still present.
In the Southwest, early apple varieties were at pink to early king bloom and most other varieties were at pink.
In the Southeast, most apples were between tight cluster and pink. In the West Central, early varieties were at open cluster or first pink. Gala and Honeycrisp were between half-inch green to tight cluster.
In the Northwest, apples were at side green. Tart cherries were at full bloom in the Southwest and open cluster in the Southeast.
In the West Central, buds were moving more slowly and were at the swollen bud stage.
Peaches were at early to mid-bloom in the Southwest. In the Southeast and West Central, peaches were at first bloom.
Blueberries were beginning to break bud in the Southwest and were expected to move quickly with the warmer weather.
In the Southeast, blueberries were at tight cluster to early pink.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 0%; short, 4%; adequate, 63%; surplus, 33%.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 2%; short, 5%; adequate, 68%; surplus, 25%.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2023 and five-year average) showed: corn planted, 1, 0, 1, 1; soybeans planted, 1, 0, 2, 1; winter wheat jointing, 34, 11, 12, 18; oats planted, 17, 4, 13, 20; oats emerged, 1, 0, 1, 7; sugarbeets planted, 18, 14, 46, 35; sugarbeets emerged, 1, 0, 1, 7.
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