Sunflower Highlights
Post Date: Feb 20 2018
Syngenta Acquisition Finalized
Syngenta has completed its acquisition of Nidera Seeds from COFCO International. The Chinese company, COFCO, is state-owned. Nidera Seeds has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of COFCO and has significant market share in South America. Syngenta is owned by ChemChina, another state-owned Chinese firm. Nidera Seeds produces corn, soybeans, wheat, sunflowers and sorghum.
NSA Board of Directors Meets Next Week
The National Sunflower Association Board of Directors will meet February 28 and March 1, in Fargo, ND. The meeting’s focus will be primarily on research—the board will decide which research projects to fund. They’ll also review 2018 NSA Gold Award nominations and choose a winner. There’s still time to nominate someone for the Gold Award. Nominations must be received by February 23. Click here for the eligibility and criteria requirements.
FMC to Sponsor Annual Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser
The National Sunflower Association is pleased to announce FMC will be sponsoring this year’s Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser. The fundraiser is an annual tradition during the NSA Summer Seminar. The fun event gives participants a chance to win great prizes while contributing to the scholarship fund. This year’s fundraiser will be held on Tuesday, June 26 at Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria, Minnesota.
 
NSA Scholarship Available
The National Sunflower Association is seeking applications for the Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship. In tribute to the dedicated work of Curtis Stern, an industry advocate and former NSA board member, the NSA Board of Directors established a memorial scholarship in his name. Funds assist students who study in the field of agriculture with a special emphasis on sunflower production, promotion, or research. Application deadline is April 1, 2018. $4,600 is available for the scholarship this year. Preference will be given to students who are in their last two years of undergraduate studies or in graduate level studies and have maintained at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0=A scale. Application deadline is April 1, 2018. A total of $4,600 is available for the scholarship this year. Click here for more information and to submit application. Contact Tina Mittelsteadt with any questions.
Sign Up for E-Publications
Would you like to get a link to a digital copy of Sunflower Highlights each week in your email? It’s easy! Click here to sign up. And for sunflower prices at various locations, click here.
Upcoming Events
June 26-28, 2018 - NSA Summer Seminar, Arrowwood Resort, Alexandria, MN
Markets
We are still in the price discovery process for 2018 crop insurance price elections. Currently, oil type sunflowers are at $17.50 and confections are $23.70 per cwt. To follow sunflower price election trends, watch the 2018 CBoT December soyoil contract through February 28. Final price elections will be announced in early March. Traders also got a reminder about the potential for an increase in soybean acres this spring, when USDA released its 10-year baseline projections for agriculture last week. While the forecasts didn't include anything new about 2018 planting intentions, it reinforced the idea that soybean acres could increase significantly. USDA will update its statistical guesses at its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum this week. Traders will pay close attention to USDA’s expectations for 2018 planted acres, supply & demand outlooks along with ending stocks figures. This will give the market some numbers to crunch ahead of the March reports. Traders will also continue to focus on South America weather reports and crop prospects as February is the critical month for oilseed development. The dollar weakness continues to provide a nice tailwind for commodities. The dollar hit its lowest level in more than three years last week. Recent Mexican purchases of 5,000 MT of US sunflower oil are attributed to a more favorable dollar exchange rate. Confection in-shell and kernel exports are ahead of last year’s pace at this point in the market year as well.
Weekly Prices Recorded on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 ($/CWT)
  Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2018 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil Nearby 32.67 31.57 31.86 +.29 32.72
Fargo, ND NuSun 14.70 17.35 17.35 NC 18.00
Fargo, ND High Oleic NQ 17.25 17.25 NC 18.00
Enderlin, ND NuSun 15.20 17.15 17.20 +.05 18.00
Enderlin, ND High Oleic NQ 17.15 17.20 +.05 18.20
Goodland, KS NuSun 14.10 16.70 16.70 NC 17.00
Goodland, KS High Oleic 15.75 17.70 17.70 NC 18.00
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 Tuesday, February 20, 2018
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)
  Last Year Last Week This Week Change
Soybean Oil 30.37 29.77 30.06 +.29
Cotton Oil (psby) 40.67 29.57 29.86 +.29
Corn Oil 43.50 37.00 37.00 NC
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