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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Mar 20 2017

Sunflower Pathology Researchers Receive USDA Grant for Phomopsis Research

Drs. Mathew (SDSU), Markell (NDSU) and Harveson (UNL) will develop a disease forecasting system to manage Phomopsis stem canker of sunflower. The grant for the project was awarded through the USDA AFRI Foundational: Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) program. They will work with Drs. Isard (Pennsylvania State University), Magarey (North Carolina State University) and Varenhorst (SDSU) on the project. Researchers will receive $300,000 over three years.

NSA Goes to DC

National Sunflower Association Board members made visits to members of Congress from Kansas, Minnesota, North and South Dakota about the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill and Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations. In addition, the group met with officials from the USDA APHIS/Wildlife Services to discuss blackbird depredation concerns.

Reserve Your Room For Summer Seminar

Circle these dates on your calendar: June 27-29, 2017. Those are the dates for the 35th Annual NSA Summer Seminar. This year’s Summer Seminar will be held at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn in Rapid City, South Dakota. A block of rooms has been reserved there for June 27-28. To make your reservation, click here. Enter your check-in and check-out date. You also need to enter SA1 in the group code box. You can also call the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn at 605-348-4000 and book your room. The block of rooms is listed under National Sunflower Association. The room block will be released May 22, 2017 but may fill up much faster so don’t wait! The program is being finalized now and more information will be coming soon. Check the NSA website for further updates. Contact Tina Mittelsteadt at with any questions.

NSA Scholarship Available

The National Sunflower Association is seeking applicants 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, 2017. $4,600 is available for the scholarship this year. Applications can be submitted on the ND Community Foundation website. Contact Tina Mittelsteadt with any questions.

ConAgra Brands to Buy Thanasi Foods

ConAgra Brands has struck a deal to buy protein-fueled snack business Thanasi Foods, maker of Duke’s meat snacks and BIGS seeds, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close this summer. The Duke’s and BIGS brands will continue operating out of Boulder, Colorado; ConAgra Brands is based in Chicago. BIGS produces seed snacks, including jumbo in-shell sunflower seeds, sunflower seed kernels, and roasted pumpkin seeds. Duke’s makes premium meat products. ConAgra says it’s another step in the company’s efforts to reshape their portfolio to be more premium and modern.

Upcoming Events

March 22, 2017 – NSA High Plains Committee Meeting, Goodland, KS June 27-29, 2017 – NSA Summer Seminar, Rapid City, SD January 10-11, 2018 – NSA Research Forum, Fargo, ND

Markets

Old crop sunflower prices have traded down 5 cents to unchanged in the past week. New crop was unchanged to up 5 cents. CBoT traders are mainly focused on South American oilseed production. Last week USDA pegged Brazil’s soybean crop at 108 million metric tons, up from 104 million the prior month. The Brazilian crop seems to be getting larger with each new report. Harvest progress has been good in South America with no weather complications to speak of at this point. This has traders thinking that US soybean exports could struggle into the start of the next marketing year. The large South America soybean supply could continue to weigh on new crop prices moving forward. Next week, USDA will release its March 1 stocks and US 2017 planted acres by crop reports. Some industry members are expecting oil sunflower acres to show a decrease from 2016. Confection sunflower acres are expected to be equal to or slightly higher than last year. Most private firms look for corn acres to decrease from 94 million acres to 90 million this year. Soybeans are expected to increase from 83.4 to 88.5 million acres with wheat acres down to 45.6 million versus 50.2 last year.  The next key USDA reports aren’t out until March 31, so traders will be watching the pace of farmers’ sales, Chinese buying interest and US spring weather.

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, March 20, 2017 ($/CWT)   Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2017 NEW Crop Chicago Oil Nearby 33.58 31.87 32.74 +.87 33.40 Fargo, ND NuSun 16.60 15.00 15.00 NC 16.50 Enderlin, ND NuSun 16.65 15.00 15.15 +.15 16.60 Goodland, KS NuSun 16.55 13.80 13.90 +.10 14.90 Goodland, KS High Oleic 17.45 15.45 15.55 +.10 16.90 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, March 20, 2017 (dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)   Last Year Last Week This Week Change Soybean Oil 31.33 29.62 30.24 +.62 Cotton Oil (psby) 48.58 38.12 38.74 +.62 Corn Oil 45.50 42.50 42.50 NC