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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Sep 17 2018

Crop Progress

Harvest continues in Texas, where more than 60 percent of the sunflower crop is reported harvested. That's ahead of the average of 47 percent at this time.

Crop Progress - Monday, September 17, 2018  State This Week Last Week Last Year 5 Year Average North Dakota         Petals Dry 93 89 92 86 Bracts Yellow 80 71 74 54 Mature 40 23 29 --- Texas         Harvested 63 62 47 47

Crop Conditions - Monday, September 17, 2018 State Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent North Dakota 1 8 30 57 4 Minnesota 1 3 32 54 10 Colorado 1 1 24 69 5

Research Grant Applications Being Accepted

Research is an important part of the NSA’s mission – each year, the NSA provides grants to public researchers to stimulate new or additional work that may result in lower production costs, increased quality, and higher yields. Pre-proposals for projects to be considered for funding in 2019 are now being accepted. Click here to read more and submit pre-proposals.

Grower Report

Despite a stormy summer, Onida, South Dakota producer Chuck Todd says his sunflowers look pretty good. Hail wiped out his 350 acres of con-oils in late June so he replanted them; he finished planting on July 10, the latest he’s ever planted sunflower. He says other sunflower in the area that didn’t get hailed out look good too, but expects harvest is still a few weeks away in central South Dakota.

Consider Cattail Control

Now is a good time to remove blackbird roosting locations such as cattails. Cattails serve as blackbird habitat so it’s in the sunflower producer’s best interest to get rid of as much as possible. The USDA can also help with blackbird control. Click here  for a map with phone numbers for USDA Wildlife Services personnel that can help North Dakota producers that have blackbird problems. They will respond to you during the damage season by providing loaner cannons and pyrotechnics. These offices will provide further assistance in an attempt to break up large roosts. Using a combination of cattail management, cannons, harassment, desiccants, and repellants can be even more effective when used in combination. For more information on blackbird control, click here.

Pre-harvest Desiccant Information Available Online

Getting the sunflower crop off early with the aid of a desiccant can pay good dividends.If you’re thinking about desiccating your sunflowers to get an earlier start on harvest this fall, there is some important pre-harvest desiccant information available on our website you may want to check out first. Click here to learn more.

Upcoming Events

January 9-10, 2019 – NSA Research Forum, Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND

Markets

Sunflower prices at the crush plants ended the week down 5 cents to unchanged. According to the September USDA Farm Service Agency crop acreage report, area planted to sunflower in 2018 decreased 8 percent from 2017 and totals 1.29 million acres. Planted area of oil type varieties, at 1.17 million acres, is down 5 percent from 2017. Planted acreage of non-oil varieties, estimated at 131,000 acres, is down 30 percent from last year. If realized this level of planted acreage will create very tight ending stocks at the end of the 2018/19 marketing year. USDA will release its first estimate of harvested sunflower acres and production in October. Big crops keep getting bigger, according to USDA's latest soybean yield estimates. USDA expects farmers to harvest an average 52.8 bushels per acre, putting production at 4.69 billion bushels. Both figures were in line with pre-report expectations. Ending soybean stocks were also increased to 845 million bushels versus, the average trade estimate of 830 million bushels and the USDA’s August estimate of 785 million bushels. This and China’s announcement that it would slash bean meal imports further set a negative tone in the market last week. The US-China trade war continues to stay on the minds of traders making it difficult for the market to rally. Sunflower harvest should be starting soon as many acres are maturing quickly and could be desiccated to begin harvest.

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, September 17, 2018 ($/CWT)   Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2018 NEW Crop Chicago Oil Nearby 34.19 28.03 27.43 -.60 27.70 Fargo, ND NuSun 17.25 17.30 17.30 NC 17.30 Fargo, ND High Oleic NQ 17.40 17.40 NC 17.40 Enderlin, ND NuSun 16.80 17.40 17.35 -.05 17.25 Enderlin, ND High Oleic NQ 17.40 17.35 -.05 17.25 Goodland, KS NuSun 16.80 16.35 16.95 +.60 NQ Goodland, KS High Oleic 17.80 17.35 18.10 +.75 NQ 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, September 17, 2018 (dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)   Last Year Last Week This Week Change Soybean Oil 32.69 27.60 26.93 -.67 Cotton Oil (psby) 33.19 27.10 26.70 -.40 Corn Oil 37.50 30.00 30.00 NC