Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Feb 11 2019

Crop Insurance for Organic Sunflower Producers

The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has begun the discovery process in determining 2019 crop insurance price elections for sunflower. If an organic producer has a contract and would like to take advantage of the contract price, they should tell their agent they want to use their contract price by the March 15 sales closing date and provide a copy of the contract to the agent by the July 15 acreage reporting date. If they do not and experience a loss, the loss will be calculated using the projected price established by RMA and not the contract price.

NSA Scholarship Available

The National Sunflower Association is seeking applicants for the Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship. In tribute to the dedicated work of Curtis Stern, an industry advocate and former NSA board member, the NSA Board of Directors established a memorial scholarship in his name. Funds assist students who study in the field of agriculture with a special emphasis on sunflower production, promotion, or research. 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 April 1, 2019. A total of $3,500 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.

2019 NSA Gold Award Nominations Being Accepted

This is the last week to submit a nomination for the NSA Gold Award. Nominations must be received by February 15, 2019. Click here for the eligibility and criteria requirements. The NSA Board of Directors will review all submitted applications and choose a winner. The Gold Award will be presented during this year’s NSA Summer Seminar, set for June 25-27 in Medora, ND.

Markets

The USDA estimate for 2018 US sunflower production has been released. Total production was pegged at 2.12 billion pounds, down 1 percent from 2017. The US average yield per acre of 1,731 pounds increased 128 pounds from 2017. The average yield was a record high for the US. Planted area, at 1.30 million acres, was 7 percent below the previous year. Area harvested decreased 8 percent from 2017 to 1.22 million acres. South Dakota was the number one producing state at 975 million pounds, a decrease of 4 percent from 2017. Compared with 2017, planted area in South Dakota decreased 8 percent but yield increased 105 pounds to 1,840 pounds per acre. Production in North Dakota increased 5 percent primarily due to average yield, which increased 6 percent from the previous year. The average yield in North Dakota increased 95 pounds from 2017 to 1,760 pounds per acre. US production of oil-type sunflower varieties, at 1.90 billion pounds, increased 3 percent from 2017. Compared with the previous year, harvested acres were down 6 percent but the average yield increased by 144 pounds to 1,726 pounds per acre. Production of non-oil sunflower varieties was estimated at 220 million pounds, a decrease of 24 percent from 2017. Area harvested, at 123,500 acres, was down 25 percent from 2017. The average yield increased by 31 pounds from 2017 to 1,781 pounds per acre and represented the second highest yield on record for non-oil varieties.
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