Sep 13, 2011
Threat of unseasonably early freeze threatens Michigan crops

State climatologist Jeffrey Andresen has his fingers crossed that the computer models are wrong.

If they are not, a statewide frost and freeze at the end of the week could slam Michigan farmers with lost yields, lower income for poor quality, and increased costs to dry corn to a suitable storage moisture level.

The improbably early frost, if it comes, couldn’t have chosen a worse year. "Unfortunately we had an unusually wet cool spring, which resulted in significant delays of planting," Andresen said Monday.

A hot July made up for much of that lost time at the beginning of the season, he said, "but we still need a couple of weeks to bring that crop to maturity. If we were to see frost later this week, it could catch late-planted crops."

The Kalamazoo Gazette

Read more of the story here.




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