Sunflower Highlights
Post Date: Mar 13 2017
Dow, DuPont Try More Divestments in Seeking Merger Approval
Dow Chemical and DuPont say they are willing to make more business divestments as a way to nudge European regulators who remain wary of their proposed merger. The companies plan to join in a $62 billion deal and then break apart into three separate, publicly traded companies focused on agriculture, material science, and the production and sale of specialty products, respectively. Antitrust regulators remain hesitant, however. A spokesperson says among the concessions the companies are willing to make are the sale of part of DuPont's crop protection business — along with its associated research and development — and the sale of Dow Chemical's acid copolymers and ionomers business. The deadline for the European Commission to review the proposals has been extended to April 4.
 
Spring Drying and Storage Critical
Temperatures are finally warming up a bit, and as temps increase, it is important to pay special attention to stored sunflowers. An increase in outdoor temperature and solar heat warms bins, and increases the stored sunflower temperature. Some tips to keep stored sunflower from getting too warm:
  • Run aeration fans periodically to keep the temperature at a proper level.
  • Monitor stored sunflowers closely to detect any storage problems early.
  • Check the moisture content of stored sunflower to determine if it needs to be dried. Oil sunflowers need to be dried to 8 percent for summer storage to prevent spoilage.
For more information on drying and storing, click here.
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Markets
USDA surprised market analysts with bearish monthly US & World supply and demand reports last week. USDA estimated US 2015/16 soybean carryout at 435 million bushels versus February at 420. USDA also raised estimated world soybean stocks near 82.8 million metric tons (MMT) versus 80.4 MMT in February. In addition, USDA increased the Brazil 2017 soybean crop to 108.0 MMT. This was at the high end of trade expectations and suggests that US soybean exports could struggle into the start of the next marketing year. The large South America soybean supply could continue to weigh on new crop prices moving forward. USDA also raised US soyoil end stocks resulting in CBoT soyoil contracts shedding recent gains. Sunflower prices followed the action on the CBoT. Old crop prices were down 15 to 35 cents in the past week with new crop unchanged to down 20 cents. The five main issues that the market will be focusing on in March will be any increase in fund buying of commodities, Brazil and Argentina 2017 corn and soybean harvest progress and impact it might have on US exports, any news from Washington on trade policy and changes to the RFS, USDA March 31 acreage and stocks report and US spring weather.
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