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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Sep 11 2017

Crop Progress

Sunflower harvest is nearly half finished in Texas; 46 percent of the crop there is reported harvested, ahead of 34 percent last year. And the Minnesota sunflower crop continues to look to be a good one, with 86 percent of the sunflowers there reported in good to excellent condition.

Crop Progress - Monday, September 11, 2017 State This Week Last Week Last Year 5 Year Average North Dakota         Petals Dry 84 72 85 77 Bracts Yellow 57 35 65 42 Mature 14 3 20 ---- South Dakota         Blooming 100 95 90 100 Petals Dry 56 34 48 62 Bracts Yellow 23 6 16 27 Mature 5 1 ---- ---- Kansas         Blooming 97 93 ---- ---- Petals Dry 39 26 44 52 Bracts Yellow 18 7 ---- ---- Mature 4 1 ---- ---- Texas         Harvested 46 44 34 41

Crop Conditions - Monday, September 11, 2017 State Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent North Dakota 7 16 46 30 1 South Dakota 6 24 53 16 1 Minnesota 0 1 13 66 20 Colorado 2 5 13 74 6 Kansas 1 3 25 65 6

September is typically an ideal month to estimate sunflower yields. Sunflower should be at R7 stage of growth. Click here to learn more about estimating yield.

Grower Report

Despite a very dry summer, Lemmon, SD area producer Lance Hourigan says his sunflowers look better than expected. He expects to start harvesting his nearly 2,00 acres of mostly high oleic sunflower in another month or so.

Markets

Sunflower prices at the crush plants ended the week mixed at down 40 cents to unchanged. Nearby sunflower prices have backed off somewhat as farmers have been very active sellers on the recent rally in seed prices. Weaker CBoT soyoil prices have added resistance to sunflower prices at the crush plants. For the most part, birdfood continues to trade at a premium to the crush market in a range of $17.00-$18.00. Sunflower crop ratings in the Dakotas continue to trend upward after receiving beneficial rain in August. On July 31, 40-45 percent of the sunflower crop was rated in very poor to poor condition by USDA. In the latest USDA report the very poor to poor rating has decreased to only 23-30 percent. Sunflower is very drought tolerant and the rain may have added on some pounds as well. Sunflower harvest could be starting soon in the Northern Plains as many acres have matured to a point where they can be desiccated and harvested. Getting the crop harvested several weeks early can result in higher yields and lower drying costs. It can also reduce late season crop damage and blackbird damage. In addition to watching weather forecasts, CBoT traders are anxiously awaiting the next series of USDA reports that will be released this week. Traders will be looking for USDA to confirm recent private crop estimates.