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

Estimating Yields in Sunflower Fields

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 2,000 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.