By Michael Symonds
Fall is harvest time for Southwest Michigan crops such as corn and soybeans, but with high temperatures, are the crops feeling the heat?
It’s been a warm, dry fall in the Kalamazoo area and Southwest Michigan more broadly. Temperatures reached near 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Kalamazoo on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
And while for many this means waiting to pull out the sweater, what does it mean for the ongoing harvest of corn and other crops in Southwest Michigan?
Nicole Ritchie is a field crop educator with the Michigan State University Extension.
She said the warm, dry fall put the harvest ahead of schedule.
“Since it's been pretty dry, we haven't had too many cycles of the grain getting wet and then having to dry out again, so that should help with quality," she said.
But corn and soybeans aren't the only crops doing well. Southwest Michigan grapes and strawberries had a good year too, according to MSU Extension Small Fruit Educator Cheyenne Sloan.
“This warm fall isn't really going to be a huge concern yet, because we haven't been seeing that kind of like back and forth that might confuse the plants," she said.
But that doesn't mean everything is peachy keen.
Kurt Wiley grows a variety of crops at Wiley Farms just outside of Schoolcraft.
He said the watermelons did quite well, but the dry weather presented a problem for his pumpkins and corn.
“The pumpkins ended up being smaller, and the corn didn't make it for the last picking," Wiley said. "It should have, temperature-wise, but it just was too dry.”
When it came to the upcoming winter, both Extension experts said a snowy winter without big temperature swings would benefit crops like cherries and winter wheat.
Wiley added that he plans to cultivate garlic over the winter, with potentially inconsistent weather not posing a threat to that crop.
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
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