Ag census shows more than 45,000 Michigan farms; 36 percent of farmers are women

February weather has been up and down. The latest eight- to 14-day agricultural weather outlook from the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, issued Feb. 13 and for Feb. 21-27 shows a temperature probability of 40% to 50% leaning above normal, and a precipitation probability leaning slightly above normal. Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions says that March weather is always complicated because higher sun angles cause a lot of overturning in the atmosphere.

Currently, his March analogs for El Niño years trend a bit milder and with more than normal amounts of precipitation. By the way, we are now just over 10.5 hours of daylight, gaining about two minutes of extra sunlight each day and reaching three minutes per day by the end of February.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture was released on Feb. 13, with national and statewide ag census numbers. County data is scheduled to be released in April. Michigan has 45,581 farms, totaling 9,472,069 acres of land in farms, or 26.2% of the total amount of land in the entire state, which is 36,197,991 acres. The average value of land and buildings was $5,879 per acre, up from $4,955 in the 2017 survey. Value of organic sales was $238,713,000, up from $176,069,000, though the number of certified organic farms decreased from 644 to 605. The average age of a farmer in Michigan is 56.5 years, with about 49% of all farmers working full time (200+ days) off the farm. The national census data shows an increase, from the 2017 census, of the numbers of young farmers (age 34 or less) and beginning farmers (those with 10 years or less of farming). The number of female farmers accounted for about 36 percent of all farmers. The next Census of Agriculture will be conducted in 2027.

Pesticide credit classes will be winding down through March. The last class sponsored by the Ag Advisory Council will be March 22 at the Lodi Township Hall, 3755 Pleasant Lake Road, Ann Arbor. Registration is through the host, Washtenaw County Farm Bureau. Call 734-429-1420 to register and for more information. Six pesticide credits have been requested from MDARD. Farmers or commercial applicators can now go online at michigan.gov/mdard/licensing/pesticide to see how many credits they have earned.

Dicamba registration vacated by a federal court in Arizona means no dicamba labeled crops can legally be sprayed with any dicamba products. This sudden uproar affects dicamba soybeans labelled for over-the-top applications. Due to the very late nature of this ruling, farm and commodity groups are appealing to the EPA for an emergency exemption until this is resolved.

The 2023 eFields Report listing 184 on-farm research projects from 47 counties in Ohio is now available from Ohio State University. These are 71 field-scale project results listed in the 290-page report. Included are corn and soybean projects in: biologicals, fungicides, nitrogen, sulfur, seed populations, soil health, drone spraying, phosphorus, as well as wheat, small grains, forages and tillage studies. I have a few copies available, or get one by calling the Fulton County OSU Office at 419-337-9210.

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Starting seeds Indoors begins and ends primarily upon the amount of light available. Poor light levels may be worse than colder temperatures and will likely result in leggy seedlings that often struggle to recover. Ideally, use an LED or fluorescent grow light fixture that’s “full-spectrum+" and can be found at some local hardware stores. Up to 16 hours a day of light is fine, but plants do need a period of darkness also, so switching lights on in the morning and off at bedtime is fine.

Don’t even think about hardening off tender crops outdoors until about seven to 10 days before the final frost date. Do remember to check plants regularly for soil moisture but being small, they won’t need watering until the soil seems dry to the touch.

— Ned Birkey is an MSU Extension educator emeritus and a regular contributor to The Monroe News.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Ag census shows more than 45,000 Michigan farms; 36 percent of farmers are women