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Rainy days continue in Michigan

Another week of cool, wet conditions plagued Michigan farmers struggling to finish planting.

USDA says 84 percent of corn and 53 percent soybeans are now planted and well behind average.  Dry beans are 17 percent planted, more than 50 percent behind last year. Alfalfa first cutting is less than half of average, now 30 percent complete.  Excessive wet fields for crops that have been planted has also led to uneven emergence and nutrient issues.

Winter wheat condition is 42 percent good to excellent.  The crop is now 94 percent jointed and 64 percent headed.

Audrey Sebolt with Michigan Farm Bureau tells Brownfield continued wet weather could hamper strawberry quality and is causing issues for vegetable growers.

“I worry about whether or not the transplants are taking.  I also heard some of the tomato transplants were hard to put through the transplanter because they were so large because it was so late for them to get into the ground.”         

Potato planting is finished, and asparagus harvest is winding down.

“The quality was excellent but there was an incident of import pressure that affected the prices.” 

Fruit development is also behind and rain is keeping growers from normal management activities.