Presque Isle County harvest report:

The Presque Isle County harvest began in September with the grains: wheat, oats, and barley. Dry beans and early potatoes followed with corn coming at the end. In this first part of the harvest report, the general economic overview and weather conditions are presented. In part two, specific crop yields and other local issues will be given. The weather this growing season will be remembered as persistently cool temperatures early on with delayed crop development and unusually dry weather during the latter half of the season, according to Dr. Jeff Andresen in the annual report issued last month by the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service of the State Department of Agriculture.

Soil moisture at the beginning of the season was below normal levels due to dry conditions last winter but sufficient for planting and early crop establishment. Relatively dry, warm conditions allowed fieldwork to start in April and continue into May, with significant progress in summer crop planting in many areas. In early May a wet weather pattern began which led to planting delays that continued into June. The month of June was among the coolest observed in Michigan since1992, known as the “year without a summer.” Crop growth and development lagged well behind normal, with nitrogen deficiencies and weed problems also common due to the abnormally cool and wet soils.

WARM TEMPERATURES returned in July and continued into late August. Precipitation totals, which had been above normal during May into early June, dropped off to below normal levels by late June and continued into September over most of the state. Temperatures during September averaged above normal. The first killing freeze of the season (along with snow in some areas) ended the growing season for the majority of the state during the first few days of October, which was near to or earlier than normal in most spots. From May to September, mean temperatures and growing conditions were generally well below normal statewide figures. The seasonal precipitation totals were lower than normal in northeast Michigan this year. The 2002 Census of Agriculture, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, lists the number of farms in the county at 303, which is down ten percent from 337 farms in 1997. The Presque Isle County Comprehensive Plan (2004) shows that farm employment in the county is about five times higher than the state average, 7.1 percent of the workforce as compared to 1.4 percent statewide. Agriculture accounts for $11,304,000 in revenue in the county. The money is split between crops (65 percent) and livestock (35 percent). This is down from the1997 figure of $13,316,000.

ACCORDING TO Dave Glenn, MSU Extension Director for the county, the reduction in revenue is partly the result of fluctuating commodity prices and partly due to the reduction in the amount of land in production. The amount of farmland in production is currently 68,059 acres, compared to 87,060 acres in 1997, down 22 percent.

The average farm size in the county is 225 acres, down 13 percent from the1997 figure of 258 acres. Government payments in 2002 amounted to $388,000, up 171 percent from the $143,000 paid in 1997. The average payment per farm was $4,972 in 2002, compared to $1,509 in 1997, up 229 percent.

Farm real estate average price per acre, $2,9200; cropland average price per acre, $2,550; cropland average cash rent per acre, $62.

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