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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Oct 28 2019

Crop Progress

Producers in Colorado, Kansas and Texas have made excellent harvest progress and are ahead of the five-year average pace.

Crop Progress - Monday, October 28, 2019 State This Week Last Week Last Year 5 Year Average North Dakota         Mature 96 89 --- --- Harvested 11 6 46 47 South Dakota         Harvested 12 5 15 44 Minnesota         Harvested 20 1 54 70 Kansas         Harvested 43 27 38 38 Colorado         Harvested 72 55 29 40 Texas         Harvested 80 76 73 76

Crop Conditions - Monday, October 28, 2019 State Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent North Dakota 3 12 32 50 3 Minnesota 1 4 28 60 7

Grower Report

Brighton, Colorado producer Tom Kirkmeyer is anxious to get started harvesting his 900 acres of confection sunflower. He says the little he has cut is still at about 15% moisture, but he’s hoping cooler temperatures this week will help dry down the ‘flowers. He expects average yields of 1,200 to 1,500 pounds.

Producers Encouraged to Contact Agents for Delayed Harvest

Producers who currently participate in Federal crop insurance and are experiencing a delay in harvesting their crop should contact their Approved Insurance Provider to file a Notice of Loss and request more time to harvest. Producers must file a Notice of Loss and request more time to harvest before the end of the insurance period, so that Federal crop insurance claims are settled based on the amount of harvested production. The end of the insurance period for sunflower is November 30. More information on requesting assistance due to delayed harvest is available on RMA’s website.

Call for Papers

We are looking for research papers to be presented at the NSA Research Forum, set for January 8-9, 2020 in Fargo, ND. Presentations may be either oral or in the form of a poster. A time will be designated for authors to be with their posters and answer questions. Each oral presentation will be limited to 10-12 minutes with 2-3 minutes allowed for questions. Click here if you are interested in presenting a paper. You do not have to submit the actual paper or poster at this time, just the information indicated online and the author information. Submissions must be completed by November 15, 2019.

Register Now for the 2020 NSA Research Forum

Registration is now open for the 2020 NSA Research Forum, scheduled for January 8-9, 2020 at the Holiday Inn (3803 13thAve. S, Fargo, ND). Click here to register for the forum at the early bird price of $130. You’ll find hotel information there as well. See you in Fargo!

October/November Issue of The Sunflower Now Available

The October/November 2019 issue of The Sunflower is in the mail and also ready to read on our website. Click here to read it. This issue includes an interview with North Dakota producer Adam Bettenhausen, a look at the NSA’s 2020 research priorities, reflections from outgoing NSA board members Art Ridl and Jeff Oberholtzer, and more.

Upcoming Events

December 10-11, 2019 – Ag Horizons, Pierre, SD  December 12, 2019 – High Plains Committee Meeting, Goodland, KS January 8-9, 2020 – NSA Research Forum, Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND  June 23-25, 2020 – NSA Summer Seminar, Spearfish, SD

Markets

Excessive rain in September and a mid-October snowstorm has led to extremely wet ground conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota resulting in a slow start to sunflower harvest. On the other hand, producers in Colorado, Kansas and Texas have made excellent harvest progress and are ahead of the five-year average pace. In the past week, producers harvested an additional 90,000 acres pushing 2019 harvested acres to about 212,000 acres. This represents 17% of this year’s projected harvested acres and is significantly behind the five-year average of 45%. A much colder dry weather pattern is expected to set in this week in the Dakotas and Minnesota. This should allow for improved ground conditions and good harvest progress. The slow harvest deliveries have led to a market rally in nearby prices at the crush plants as October prices have gained 20 to 25 cents per cwt. in the past two weeks. Prioritizing sunflower harvest and delivery is a good option to take advantage of right now with the current uptrend in nearby prices. Also, 2020 new crop sunflower prices are out at the crush plants with cash and Act of God (AOG) contracts available. In the past two weeks, birdfood price movement has been mixed with some processor’s prices unchanged and others up about 75 cents. Going forward, harvest progress, yield and crop quality will be the key to prices.

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, October 28, 2019 ($/CWT)   Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2019 NEW Crop Chicago Oil Nearby 27.89 30.48 30.48 +.30 32.07 Fargo, ND NuSun 16.90 18.15 18.30 +.15 17.75 Fargo, ND High Oleic NQ 18.45 18.55 +.10 18.25 Enderlin, ND NuSun 16.55 18.10 18.10 NC 17.80 Enderlin, ND High Oleic 16.55 18.40 18.40 NC 18.30 Goodland, KS NuSun 16.75 17.00 17.10 +.10 17.40 Goodland, KS High Oleic 17.85 18.20 18.30 +.10 18.65 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, October 28, 2019 (dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)   Last Year Last Week This Week Change Soybean Oil 27.29 30.08 30.38 +.30 Cotton Oil (psby) 29.89 39.48 39.78 +.30 Corn Oil 30.00 30.00 29.00 -1.00