Sunflower Highlights
Post Date: Apr 13 2020
2020 NSA Summer Seminar canceled
After thoughtful consultation with leaders within the sunflower industry amid the growing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Sunflower Association (NSA) has decided to cancel the 2020 Summer Seminar that would have been held in Spearfish, SD. This was felt to be the best and safest course of action after careful consideration of evolving COVID-19 pandemic developments. The NSA decided to make this decision now to allow time for attendees to make necessary travel and planning adjustments. We look forward to seeing you at the next Summer Seminar that will be held at the Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview on June 22-24, 2021 in Duluth, Minnesota.
NSA website provides helpful information for producers
Have questions about growing sunflower? You’ll find the answers to your questions on our website! Visit www.sunflowernsa.com, then click on the “growers” section—you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions there, as well as links to more information about many important topics, including approved chemicals, production, marketing, crop insurance and more.
Deadline for NSA Scholarship extended
The deadline to apply for the National Sunflower Association’s Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship has been extended to May 1. Preference will be given to students who are in their last two years of undergraduate studies or in graduate level studies and have maintained at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0=A scale. Application deadline is May 1, 2020. A total of $5,000 is available for the scholarship this year. Applications can be submitted online. Click here to learn more.  Contact Tina Mittelsteadt at tinam@sunflowernsa.com with any questions.
Work safely around grain
People who work with grain—loading it, unloading it and moving it from bin to bin—need to know about the hazards of flowing grain and how to prevent a grain entrapment situation. People can become trapped in grain in three different ways: the collapse of bridged grain, the collapse of a vertical wall of grain and entrapment in flowing grain. Moving or flowing grain is involved in all three. Here are some general safety precautions:
  • Don’t let children work or play in an area where there is flowing grain.
  • All workers involved in a situation where there is flowing grain should be warned to stay out of the grain
  • Warning decals should be placed at all bin entrances, on all rail cars, truck and trailer boxes used for grain hauling and on all gravity discharge wagons.
  • Never enter a grain bin without stopping the auger first and using “lock-out/tag-out” procedures to secure it.
  • Never enter a grain bin alone; have at least two people at the bin to assist in case problems arise. Use a safety harness or safety line when entering the bin.
  • Install a permanent lifeline hanging from the center of the bin for a person to grab on to.
  • Control the access to grain storage facilities to prevent grain entrapments.
For more information, check out the NDSU publication “Caught in the Grain.” It’s available by clicking here.
Upcoming events
August 20, 2020
NSA High Plains Committee Meeting
Goodland, KS
 
January 13-14, 2021
NSA Research Forum
Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND
Markets
Old crop NuSun and high oleic prices were unchanged to down 10 cents this week at the crush plants. New crop prices were unchanged to down 25 cents as producers stepped up the pace to lock in prices for 2020 crop deliveries. Despite the recent softening in 2020 new crop prices, they continue to be higher than a year ago at this same time with oil crushers still offering Act of God (AOG) and cash contracts. The seemingly never-ending harvest of the 2019 sunflower crop is finally coming to a close. In the past three months, producers harvested an additional 200,000 acres pushing the harvested area to about 1,170,750 acres. This represents 96% of last year’s projected harvested acres leaving approximately 50,000 acres to be harvested this month in the Dakotas and Minnesota before spring planting begins. The trade’s reaction to USDA’s April US/World supply and demand report was mixed last week. USDA pegged the US 2019/2020 corn ending stocks at 2.092 billion bushels versus the trade’s expectations of 2.00 billion and the USDA’s March estimate of 1.89 billion. For soybeans, the USDA estimates US 2019/2020 ending stocks at 480 million bushels versus its estimate of 425 million last month and the trade’s expectation of 430 million. Overall traders thought the report gave very little new information as coronavirus related adjustments reflected in the report were largely anticipated and provide few incentives for market participants to change their current market outlook.
Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, April 13, 2020 ($/CWT)
  Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2020 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil Nearby 28.81 26.83 26.90 +.07 28.10
West Fargo, ND NuSun 17.50 20.10 20.00 -.10 17.90
West Fargo, ND High Oleic 18.00 20.50 20.45 -.05 18.00
Enderlin, ND NuSun 17.40 20.15 20.15 NC 17.40
Enderlin, ND High Oleic 17.80 20.35 20.35 NC 17.80
Goodland, KS NuSun 16.65 18.75 18.65 -.10 17.75
Goodland, KS High Oleic 17.75 19.50 19.40 -.10 18.90
Prices recorded here are believed to be reliable at the time of posting. All prices are subject to change. Contact these facilities for complete market details.
U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, April 13, 2020
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)
  Last Year Last Week This Week Change
Soybean Oil 28.06 26.23 26.10 -.13
Cotton Oil (psby) 37.81 35.83 41.90 +6.07
Corn Oil 30.00 39.00 46.00 +7.00
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