We will not begin the bulk of our harvest until nearly October first. Only the latest snap bean plantings are yet to be harvested and those are maturing ahead of normal due to heat and drought. The drought is effecting yields. Second pepper picking is underway and irrigation continues. Winter squash in most fields are mature.
Pumpkin fields are ahead of normal in most fields.
Fresh market zucchini harvest continues but processing is winding down. An upper air troughing pattern across eastern sections of North America similar to the persistent feature earlier this summer has resulted in an extended period of fair, mostly dry conditions across much of the state since the middle of August. Weekly and monthly precipitation totals over all but southeastern sections have fallen well below normals for the season, hastening maturation and senescence of some crops and leading to late season moisture stress in others. Normal weekly precipitation in early September should range from about 0.70 inches per week in the southeastern Lower Peninsula to more than 0.95 inches per week in western Lower and western Upper Michigan. Significant changes in the upper air configuration across North America are in store during the next several days, with a large trough expected to form across the Great Lakes and New England regions by late in the week.