Jordan Beck | Daily Press Glenn Marenger, operator of Marenger Farms in Cornell, checks the growth of pumpkins on his farm recently. With 2020 about halfway over, things are looking relatively good for agriculture in the Upper Peninsula for the rest of the year.

ESCANABA — With 2020 about halfway over, MSU Extension Crop Educator James Isleib said things are looking relatively good for agriculture in the Upper Peninsula for the rest of the year.

Normally, Isleib spends more time visiting local farms than he has in 2020.

“It’s a funny year, because Michigan State University has imposed a travel ban pretty much on us,” he said.

Since March, the only farm Isleib has spent significant time at is Michigan State University’s Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham. However, he has been able to keep an eye on the current state of agriculture in the Upper Peninsula.

“I have been paying attention, and I’ve been in contact with farmers,” he said.

Based on what he has heard, the peninsula was affected by abnormal weather patterns in May.

“We had an unusual warm, nice spell of weather in the middle of May … it was followed by a very cold spell for about a week,” Isleib said.

He went on to say crops in the U.P. had largely not suffered from these conditions.

“In many cases, they weren’t planted yet,” Isleib said.

According to Isleib, the fluctuating temperatures may have affected perennial crops like hay and alfalfa, which got off to a somewhat slow start in 2020.

“It affected grazing more than haymaking,” he said.

These crops have been performing well in recent months, as has been the case for oats and barley.

“They got into the groove in a timely way, and they came up well,” Isleib said.

By mid-June, conditions were relatively dry in the U.P. This was particularly true in central and western parts of the peninsula.

“It never really reached drought conditions,” Isleib said.

He also said recent rainfall has helped in this regard.

Glenn Marenger, operator of Marenger Farms in Cornell (previously known as Marenger’s Potato Farm), said oats, pumpkins and hay have been doing well at his farm in 2020.

“To me, it seems like a decent year so far,” he said.

Marenger said crop performance for the remainder of the growing season will depend on area weather conditions.

“Being a farmer, we count on Mother Nature,” he said.

Isleib agreed with this and shared MSU Extension’s predictions for these conditions in the coming months.

“The outlook … is a little warmer and a little wetter than usual,” he said.

Based on these predictions, Isleib said he believes local farmers could see healthy results later in 2020.

“I’m looking for a fair to good growing season this year,” he said.

He also noted that crop performance will vary from farm to farm.

“That’s just how agriculture is,” Isleib said.