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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Jul 10 2017

Crop Progress

Minnesota's sunflower crop is looking to be a good one - 88 percent of the state's crop is reported in good to excellent condition. Meanwhile, planting in Texas is nearly complete, with 95 percent of the crop reported planted. That is on track with the five year average.

Crop Progress - Monday, July 10, 2017 State This Week Last Week Last Year 5 Year Average North Dakota         Blooming 4 3 10 ---- South Dakota         Emerged 98 88 80 ---- Kansas         Planted 96 93 94 95 Emerged 89 83 86 85 Blooming 4 ---- ---- ---- Texas         Planted 95 90 95 96 Colorado         Planted 96 90 97 95

Crop Conditions - Monday, July 10, 2017 State Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent North Dakota 16 23 35 25 1 South Dakota 13 20 60 7 0 Minnesota 0 0 12 70 18 Colorado 0 11 32 52 5 Kansas 0 2 33 60 5

Grower Report

Brighton, CO producer Tom Kirkmeyer says his sunflower crop is emerged and looks decent, but he says the area is very dry. Brighton is about 30 miles north of Denver. Kirkmeyer says they haven’t received any moisture in about a month. All 1,200 acres of his confection sunflowers are planted on non-irrigated land. Kirkmeyer says despite being dry, he hasn’t noticed any issues with disease or insects.

Reminder About Stored Seed

Producers who have stored seed are reminded to keep a close eye on seed moisture. Verify the seed moisture content is dry enough for storage at summer temperatures. The recommended long-term moisture contents are 8 percent for oil sunflowers and 10 percent for confectionary sunflowers. The market moisture content may be higher, but storing warm grain at higher moisture contents may lead to mold growth. Mold growth and insect infestations occur rapidly at summer temperatures so stored grain should be checked every two weeks. For more on storing seed, click here.

35th Annual Summer Seminar a Success

Nearly 150 people attended the 35th annual NSA Summer Seminar, held June 27-29 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Attendees heard presentations about the 2018 Farm Bill, the Food Safety Modernization Act, the oilseed outlook, Downy Mildew protection, the U.S. confection market in Spain, a discussion about harvest technology, and a look at hybrid sunflower production in California, as well as a look back at 15 years of the NSA’s sunflower survey. Joe Caroline was presented the 2017 Gold Award and past presidents and outgoing board members were recognized at the general session luncheon. Look for a complete wrap up of the event in the next issue of The Sunflower magazine. Mark your calendars for next year’s summer seminar, scheduled for June 26-28, 2018 at Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Upcoming Events

January 10-11, 2018 – NSA Research Forum, Fargo, ND June 26-28, 2018 – NSA Summer Seminar, Arrowwood Resort, Alexandria, MN

Markets

Sunflower prices continue to move upward gaining 40 to 50 cents this week at the crush plants.  Nearby prices have gained $2.80 per cwt since the market low was set. The Northern Plains continue to suffer from hot, dry weather with no relief in sight. Forecasters give the region little chance of rain and continue to see temperatures above normal for much of the next two weeks. In the past week, a larger area of the US sunflower production region has slid into a moderate to severe drought situation with some areas now considered in extreme drought conditions. Sunflower is very drought tolerant and for the most part doing well considering the growing conditions.  However, rain will be needed soon as the plants move from the vegetative to the reproductive stage. Last week CBoT soyoil prices were pressured by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to reduce the volume of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel fuel next year as it signaled the first step toward a potential broader overhaul of its biofuels program. EPA’s proposed total volume marked a slight decline from current levels and was more than 20% below targets laid out in a 2007 law. The next big market news event will be the USDA July 12 US and World Supply and Demand report, along with weather forecasts and crop condition ratings in the week ahead.

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, July 10, 2017 ($/CWT)   Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2017 NEW Crop Chicago Oil Nearby 30.25 33.13 33.62 +.49 34.17 Fargo, ND NuSun 17.10 16.60 17.00 +.40 16.20 Enderlin, ND NuSun 16.95 16.50 17.00 +.50 16.50 Goodland, KS NuSun 16.45 NQ NQ ---- 15.80 Goodland, KS High Oleic 17.45 NQ NQ ---- 17.30 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, July 10, 2017 (dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)   Last Year Last Week This Week Change Soybean Oil 27.75 32.63 32.18 -.45 Cotton Oil (psby) 45.33 39.13 39.68 +.55 Corn Oil 45.75 41.50 41.50 NC