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Silage Harvest Moving Quickly


Published: Friday, September 27, 2024

The following is from the Michigan Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending Sept. 22.

Abnormally high temperatures and limited rainfall continued to advance crop maturity last week. There were 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork.

Corn fields dried out rapidly across the state as half the crop reached maturity and 3% had been harvested for grain.

Corn silage harvest surpassed the halfway point and remained ahead of last year and the five-year average.

Soybean harvest made headway and was 9% complete by week's end.

Winter wheat planting continued ahead of normal, but seed struggled to germinate without adequate moisture in some areas.

Dry bean harvest was over half complete. Sugarbeet condition was rated 45% good to excellent, down from last week.

The warm weather slowed potato harvesting.

Other activities last week included planting cover crops, hauling hay, chopping alfalfa for silage, alfalfa seeding, fall tillage, and tending to livestock.

Fruit

In addition to the warm weather, there has been limited rainfall. Dry conditions helped to speed picking by harvest crews and harvest was moving rapidly.

Commercial apple harvesting focused on Red Delicious and Golden Delicious in the Southwest. Honeycrisp was nearly done.

Growers in the Northwest were actively harvesting Honeycrisp. Jonagold, September Wonder Fuji and Empire harvests were being wrapped up in the West Central region.

Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 23%; short, 32%; adequate, 42%; surplus, 3%.

Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 19%; short, 33%; adequate, 47%; surplus, 1%.

The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2023 and five-year average) showed: corn dented, 91, 80, 80, 79; corn mature, 50, 26, 21, 31; corn harvested for grain, 3, 2, 1, 2; corn harvested for silage, 59, 39, 43, 53; soybeans dropping leaves, 68, 48, 52, 61; soybeans harvested, 9, 2, 2, 4; winter wheat planted, 17, 10, 5, 11; dry edible beans dropping leaves, 96, 82, 91, 90; dry edible beans harvested, 59, 17, 26, 26; alfalfa hay, third cutting, 92, 86, 89, 86; alfalfa hay, fourth cutting, 51, 45, 58, NA; other hay, third cutting, 65, 60, 69, 64; other hay, fourth cutting, 18, 13, NA, NA; sugarbeets harvested, 15, 10, 9, 16.

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