Michigan corn maturity jumped 18 percent last week to finish at 53 percent overall for the week ending Oct. 8, according to the latest crop progress report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
While corn maturity lags the five-year average by 17 percent, corn harvested for grain (13 percent) and silage (83 percent) are on-pace with historical averages.
Crop conditions improved slightly compared to the previous week, with 55 percent of the state’s corn listed as good or excellent, 35 percent fair and 10 percent as poor or very poor.
Michigan soybean conditions held relatively steady from the previous week, with 51 percent good or excellent, 39 percent fair and 10 percent poor or very poor.
Soybean harvest jumped 12 percent to end at 17 percent overall — just 8 percent behind the five-year average.
It’s a very different story for sugarbeet growers, who harvested just 1 percent more crop last week. At 15 percent overall, sugarbeet harvest is less than half of what it normally is for the historical average.
The weather ahead in the coming days isn’t going to help things much, according to MFB Industry Relations Specialist Theresa Sisung.
“The inch of rain we are predicted to get over the weekend is going to once again stop harvest for a few days,” Sisung said.
“We could also use some warmer temperatures so that the wheat getting planted now has a chance to get some good growth on it before winter.”
At 27 percent planted, winter wheat trails the five-year average by 16 percent.
Meanwhile, the state’s topsoil moisture is now showing zero percent in the “very short” category — with 13 percent of Michigan now showing surplus moisture. Subsoil moisture showed a 6 percent increase in “adequate” readings.