| Michigan growers worry in anticipation of early harvest |
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| By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent
STANTON, Mich. – After a hot, dry summer, late August rains drenched much of Michigan, but now farmers and industry professionals are concerned that an early frost could hinder fall harvest.
“We need more time to the growing season and frost to hold off until late September,” said Bob Boehm, manager of the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) Commodity and Marketing Department.
“Things were moving along well early in the season, and then came drought followed by cool temperatures and rain,” Boehm said.
Rains totaling 2 to 5 inches throughout much of the state at the end of August “brought much of Michigan back to average precipitation levels. (But) it just came three weeks later than we would have liked,” Boehm said.
For soybeans, growers are hoping the rain will improve individual bean size and help soybean plants replenish moisture lost to spider mite and aphid infestations, according to Boehm.
“The rain is going to help some,” said Del Christensen, a Montcalm County dairy and cash crop farmer.
Christensen, who farms about 2,500 acres with his family, said the rain “came so fast we have washouts in our new alfalfa seedings.”
With silage and dry bean harvest underway in much of the state, Christensen said crop yields on his family’s farm are better than he expected.
“I think the yields are going to be better than everyone expected. The yield is good on the corn silage, and we see some corn in the silage. That’s surprising,” he said.
“We’ve got some nice looking cranberry beans, but the question is if we can get them harvested before the weather hits,” he said.
In addition to field crops, MFB Horticultural and Forestry Specialist Ken Nye said too much moisture could cause trouble particularly for vegetable crops that are close to harvest.
“Quality issues and disease problems can crop up in situations like we’ve had over the past week where we’re getting 4 to 5 inches of rain in some areas in a very short period of time,” Nye said. “Melons and tomatoes, for instance, have the potential to soak up too much moisture and become bloated and split. In other cases, you might have vegetables that spoil sooner.”
According to the state’s weekly crop and weather report from the Michigan field office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), cooler temperatures have alleviated additional stress on crops. However, officials estimate decreased yields in several field crop areas due to the hot, dry growing season.
According to NASS, Michigan corn farmers expect a yield of 111 bushels per acre, down 36 bushels from 2006. The state’s soybean yield is forecast at 33 bushels per acre, down 12 bushels from one year ago. Sugarbeet producers estimate a yield of 21 tons per acre, down 2.2 tons from 2006. Michigan winter wheat is projected at 64 bushels per acre – 9 bushels less than one year ago. Dry bean growers expect their crop to yield 1,450 pounds per acre, a decline of 450 pounds from 2006.
While all hay yield in the state is forecast at 2.17 tons per acre, which is a 1.05 ton per acre decline from last year, hay could be the crop that benefits the most from the last rainfall.
“Our third cutting is really coming on,” Christensen said.
NASS also reported that alfalfa regrowth is “responding well to the recent rainfalls, and many growers who were harvesting their third cutting said they hoped to complete one more
cutting.”
This farm news was published in the Sept. 12, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 9/12/2007 |
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