Odds and ends from MI

Took a few pictures yesterday to compare crop conditions. I did see some local corn completely dry as in the Kansas photos from Monday, but ours is still pretty green.

Concord are a couple weeks from ready.

Fairly heavy crop expected

Niagara harvest started Wednesday

Corner of our hay field and neighbor's corn

Beans on the hill

Someday I can aspire to be as good a photographer as Larry on the Corner...

Your kidding right? lol,, A picture of a turnip or those beautiful grapes? Can you tell more about the grapes?When do you harvest and what gets made with them? Thanks in advance.I dont know much at all about grapes,we have one amall abor of concord,,didnt get any at all this year.

The harvest of the "white" Niagara variety started today here in MI, just saw another semi load go by the house as I am typing We are expecting the yield to be around 10 tons per acre (5-600) plants.

The Concord "blue" harvest will start a week later. The Welch's plant about 40 miles away can only process one variety at a time, so whites will be put on hold until the blues are complete, then finished. I estimated blues to yield 8 tons per acre.

This year, the Concord payment to the grower is $233/ton, the same number paid in 1973. At one time, grapes were such a good paying venture that, literally, every farm I can see from our place had a vineyard.

Niagara juice is a great mixer with many other juices or all by itself. Concord is processed for juice, jelly, mixes, candies, etc.

Due to the climate, grapes are pretty popular around here, the neighbor has over 1000 acres of their own. Wine grapes and wineries have exploded in popularity thanks to the far higher per acre return and proximity to large populations like Chicago and South Bend. Hops is making inroads in the region as well, with over a hundred aces in production within five miles of us.

I live near the "tip of the mitt." I did not see any corn survive here that did not have irrigation. Same for the huge red bean fields and potato fields. Many
cornfields just dried up and died before producing ears. I saw quite a few bean fields turn yellow in early August. Potato fields in Posen still look great but they
have those traveling watering machines all over those fields.

Thursday is the first day of fall. Like the pictures!

Ah, Posen. Been a few years since I been through there. Used to go to the limestone mine in Rogers City in the winter and rebuild the crushers up there. Would cruise through Posen, and the guy I worked with lived in Posen.

Do you live in the Paw Paw area

Love those concord grapes. Wish I had a basket full.

My wife and I spent all last week in Mi. Went to Mears Michigan to ride the sand dunes then headed over to Dearborn to see the henry ford
museum and greenfield village. Worth the trip. Will post some pictures soon.

Do you live in the Paw Paw area

Click to expand...

Just south of Saint Joseph, about 2 miles from Lake Michigan.
https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=1856438

That neighbor's corn is dryland, and doesn't look too bad on our heavier soils.

Was at my buddy's place east of here yesterday, he runs 11 different pivots on sand for corn/beans/etc. Some ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day almost unstopped. Second crop snap beans were harvested during and after the heavy rains of a couple weeks ago- 18 inch ruts in the fields await fall tillage.

Larry, we have a grape vine and every year we hope for some and every year we say next year. It's fungus that gets it. We've pruned like they say and used sulfur and copper but they grape clusters just shrivel up and die. Maybe next year.