United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Great Lakes Region 
		
MI-CW1924	Michigan Crop Weather	May 13, 2024	

Field Crops
Producers took advantage of sunny days between rain events to plant crops this week, according to Marlo D. Johnson, Director, USDA NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office. There were 3.2 days suitable for fieldwork in Michigan during the week ending May 12, 2024. Sugarbeet and oat progress continued ahead of historical averages. No major insect or disease issues have been reported in winter wheat. Corn and soybean emergence picked up speed as soil temperatures warmed up. Potato planting was proceeding on schedule. Other activities included scouting, tillage, fertilizing, and spraying.
Fruit
Consistent precipitation this Spring supported nutrient intake and overall tree health. Warmer temperatures led to rapid tree growth. Growers finished up tree trimming, brush cleanup, and tree planting. The sunshine and warm weather have been perfect for pollination. Apples ranged from 5 to 11 mm in the Southwest. Most apple cultivators were at petal fall in the Southeast. In the Northwest and West Central, apples were between petal fall and full bloom with some at King bloom in the Northwest. Low temperatures, the week before last, reduced crop potential for cherries in the South. There were isolated reports of damage in the Northwest. Tart cherries were 10 mm in the Southwest. In the West Central, tart cherries were in bloom to early petal fall. Peaches were out of the shuck in the Southwest. In the Southeast and West Central, peaches were at petal fall and fruit set. Peach yield potential was hardest hit by the frost event. Blueberries were reaching full bloom in the South.
Vegetables
Above normal temperatures expedited the timeline for harvesting and planting of many Michigan vegetable crops. Hoophouse tomatoes began to be harvested, while early field tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers began to be transplanted. Irrigation pipes were laid for cabbage and other brassicas as transplanting continued for these crops. Asparagus harvest began in the West Central region, with many producers noting excellent tip quality. Direct seeded onions were in the flag stage on the east side of the State. Early sweet corn succession plantings proceeded where field conditions allowed. Potatoes have emerged and were growing due to the moisture and warmer weather.

Crop Condition: Week Ending 05/12/24	
Crop	Very
poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	
	(percent)	(percent)	(percent)	(percent)	(percent)	
Winter Wheat	
Oats	
Sugarbeets	
Range and Pasture		0
0
0
0	3
0
0
2	25
31
5
18	49
59
33
56	23
10
62
24	

Crop Progress: Week Ending 05/12/24	
Crop/Activity	Percent Completed	
	This
week	Last
week	Last
year	5 Year
average	
Days Suitable for Fieldwork	

Corn Planted	
Corn Emerged	
Soybeans Planted	
Soybeans Emerged	
Winter Wheat Jointing	
Winter Wheat Headed	
Oats Planted	
Oats Emerged	
Sugarbeets Planted	
Sugarbeets Emerged		3.2

26
4
22
7
74
1
71
41
95
60	3.9

16
0
13
3
66
0
54
26
75
50	-

24
2
28
2
53
3
47
14
92
51	-

30
4
29
3
58
1
59
30
79
44	
	
Soil Moisture: Week Ending 05/12/24	
Item	Very
short	Short	Adequate	Surplus	
	(percent)	(percent)	(percent)	(percent)	
Topsoil moisture	
Subsoil moisture		0
0	3
4	66
75	31
21	

	Week Ending 2024-05-12	Since April 1	
	Temperature	Precipitation	Precipitation	GDD Base 50	
	High 	Low 	Avg 	DFN 	Total 	Days 	Total 	DFN 	Days 	Total 	DFN 	
Upper Peninsula	
HANCOCK HOUGHTON COUNTY AP 	77 	32 	52 	4 	0.07 	3 	2.60 	-0.19 	17 	32 	-8 	
IRONWOOD 	73 	30 	51 	1 	0.44 	2 	3.98 	0.16 	17 	29 	-40 	
CHATHAM EXPERIMENT FARM 2 	70 	29 	49 	0 	0.77 	2 	5.39 	2.21 	15 	25 	-20 	
PICKFORD 3NE 	68 	30 	52 	2 	1.00 	2 	7.59 	4.06 	17 	53 	24 	
Northwest LP	
BEULAH 7SSW 	74 	38 	55 	2 	0.89 	3 	4.96 	0.80 	22 	111 	14 	
FRANKFORT 2NE 	72 	40 	55 	3 	1.20 	3 	4.43 	0.64 	19 	127 	40 	
TRAVERSE CITY CHERRY CAPITAL AP 	78 	39 	55 	4 	1.08 	5 	4.70 	0.93 	22 	124 	33 	
Northeast LP	
ALPENA COUNTY REGIONAL AP 	71 	34 	50 	0 	0.80 	4 	6.53 	3.18 	22 	62 	-7 	
GAYLORD 9SSW 	73 	36 	53 	3 	1.49 	5 	6.59 	2.74 	21 	74 	2 	
GLENNIE 2SE 	69 	33 	49 	-2 	0.99 	3 	6.69 	3.01 	20 	50 	3 	
HALE LOUD DAM 	71 	32 	51 	1 	1.20 	3 	7.24 	3.78 	23 	73 	0 	
West Central LP	
MUSKEGON COUNTY AP 	78 	41 	59 	4 	0.71 	4 	3.93 	-0.21 	22 	237 	103 	
Central LP	
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY 	70 	42 	57 	3 	0.00 	0 	3.43 	-0.99 	16 	130 	12 	
GLADWIN 	72 	37 	54 	1 	0.32 	2 	4.54 	0.39 	20 	117 	10 	
MIDLAND 	69 	37 	53 	-2 	0.44 	2 	3.64 	-0.76 	18 	118 	-21 	
East Central LP	
BAD AXE 	71 	37 	52 	-1 	0.30 	3 	4.17 	0.26 	21 	90 	-12 	
SAGINAW #3 	73 	40 	55 	0 	0.31 	3 	3.88 	-0.59 	22 	164 	29 	
SAGINAW MBS INTL AP 	73 	39 	56 	1 	0.55 	3 	3.36 	-0.83 	20 	197 	67 	
Southwest LP	
BENTON HARBOR 	81 	42 	60 	4 	1.54 	3 	6.66 	1.93 	22 	281 	94 	
GRAND RAPIDS GERALD R FORD INTL AP 	74 	40 	57 	1 	0.47 	4 	4.13 	-0.72 	23 	225 	54 	
HOLLAND TULIP CITY AP 	78 	40 	57 	1 	0.65 	5 	3.74 	-0.85 	23 	219 	43 	
South Central LP	
COLDWATER ST SCHOOL 	77 	39 	55 	-1 	1.47 	3 	6.86 	2.24 	23 	225 	66 	
HASTINGS 	75 	38 	56 	1 	1.74 	3 	5.68 	0.95 	24 	200 	66 	
JACKSON REYNOLDS FIELD 	76 	37 	56 	0 	0.80 	3 	5.84 	2.02 	22 	237 	75 	
LANSING CAPITAL CITY AP 	74 	40 	56 	1 	0.74 	3 	4.97 	0.69 	20 	225 	68 	
THREE RIVERS 	78 	41 	57 	1 	2.70 	4 	7.73 	3.02 	25 	238 	56 	
Southeast LP	
ADRIAN 2 NNE 	79 	43 	57 	2 	0.96 	3 	7.45 	2.83 	21 	258 	121 	
ANN ARBOR U OF MICH 	77 	38 	56 	-1 	1.26 	5 	5.99 	1.50 	24 	254 	67 	
CHELSEA 	77 	41 	56 	0 	1.46 	3 	6.10 	2.35 	24 	257 	103 	
FARMINGTON 	77 	41 	55 	0 	0.83 	4 	5.36 	1.08 	20 	219 	89 	
MANCHESTER 	79 	41 	56 	0 	1.17 	4 	5.24 	0.87 	23 	240 	97 	
PORT HURON 	60 	45 	52 	-2 	0.00 	0 	3.68 	-0.45 	12 	152 	29 	
Note: Summary based on NOAA Regional Climate Centers (RCCs) data. Climate normals used are for the 1991-2020 period.
Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches. Air temperature in degrees fahrenheit.