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Highlights from the NSA Summer Seminar
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
filed under: News
Approximately 135 participants — growers, researchers, industry personnel and spouses — were in attendance for the 38th annual National Sunflower Association Summer Seminar, held in Grand Forks, N.D., on June 28-30 following two years in which the event did not take place due to Covid-19.
On these pages we provide several photos from the 2022 Summer Seminar. A synopsis of a USDA-ARS presentation accompanies these photos, as does a four-member grower panel summary.
The 2023 NSA Summer Seminar is scheduled for June 27-29 in Spearfish, S.D. Information will be posted on the NSA?website — sunflowernsa.com — as it becomes available.
Veteran market analyst Mike Krueger summarized the main 2021 market-driving factors and took a look ahead through 2022, including the impact of the war in Ukraine. He outlined the supply-use situation for corn, soybeans and wheat, and then finished with a discussion of the surging renewable diesel sector — one with major implications for sunflower. (See his market column elsewhere in this issue.
Daryl Ritchison, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN), provided an intriguing discussion of current and long-term weather patterns, domestic and global
Lindsborg, Kan., sunflower producer Karl Esping (left) was presented with a recognition plaque from current NSA President Lance Hourigan for his years of service to the National Sunflower Association. Esping was a NSA board member from 2010 to 2022, serving as president in 2017 and 2018 and board chairman in 2019 to 2022.
Scott Nelson (left), NSA board member from 1992 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2022, was also honored for his service to the organization. Nelson was NSA president in 2000.
Bob Majkrzak (with wife Jill) was honored with the 2021 NSA Gold Award for his many contributions to the sunflower industry. (This presentation was delayed, as the 2021 Summer Seminar was canceled due to Covid.) Majkrzak served as the longtime president of Red River Commodities. He was a NSA board member for 12 years and also served as chair of the NSA Confection Committee. In his remarks, Majkrzak recognized “the many other people in the industry who have made huge contributions” and also paid tribute to his Red River colleagues for their talents and dedication
Dr. Tom Gulya (with wife Katy) was the 2022 NSA Gold Award recipient. Gulya joined the USDA-ARS as a research plant pathologist in 1978, serving 35 years before retiring in 2013. His research focused on resistance to diseases impacting sunflower, including rust, downy mildew, Verticillium wilt, Sclerotinia and Phomopsis. He co-authored more than 100 germplasm releases and also identified fungicides to complement resistance. Gulya, who remains involved with sunflower, was a 2016 recipient of the International Sunflower Association’s prestigious Pustovoit Award.