Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Sep 25 2023

Crop Progress - Monday, September 25, 2023

State	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Year Average
North Dakota
Petals Dry	93	90	92	94
Bracts Yellow	78	69	75	81
Mature	41	29	34	45
South Dakota
Petals Dry	90	86	--	--
Bracts Yellow	71	49	--	--
Mature	29	7	--	--
Texas
Harvested	70	63	74	67
Kansas
Harvested	11	--	1	1

Crop Conditions - Monday, September 25, 2023

State	Timeframe	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
North Dakota	This week	1	8	30	53	8
	Last week	1	6	31	59	3
Minnesota	This week	0	4	43	52	1
	Last week	0	3	37	59	1
Colorado	This week	0	4	13	80	3
	Last week	1	4	14	78	3
South Dakota	This week	1	4	43	50	2
	Last week	0	2	49	48	1

Deadline approaching for research grant applications

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 2024 are now being accepted. Visit 2024 NSA Research Priorities (sunflowernsa.com) to read more and to submit pre-proposals. Grant applications are due by October 3, 2023.

Markets

This week sunflower prices continued to move lower as the market continues its transition toward the 2023/24 market year. Trading in the week ahead will focus on the USDA Grain Stocks report that will be released this week. Traders are expecting sunflower seed stocks to be up significantly from a year ago and the five-year average after last year’s large crop. According to USDA, 2022 sunflower production totaled 2.81 billion pounds, up 48 percent from 2021. We had the second highest yield on record for the U.S. for oil-type sunflower varieties with the average yield in Minnesota and North Dakota both setting record highs. Challenging weather conditions early on and logistics made it difficult for the market to use a greater percentage of last year’s crop and led to the build-up in seed stocks. Moving forward, it may be hard to gather significant forward momentum with the larger carryover of oil-type seed stocks as well as seasonal harvest pressure being just around the corner. Up next for traders will be when USDA gives its first estimate of 2023 sunflower production in October. The weather forecast for the next two weeks continues to predict above normal temperatures in the sunflower growing region. This bodes well for crop dry down as the sunflower crop continues to mature at a rapid rate. Harvest continues to move along in Kansas and Texas and will crank up in other states very soon.

Are your bins ready?

As harvest approaches, take time to make sure your bins are ready. Bins with perforated floors work better for drying sunflower than those with ducts. Aeration is essential, especially in larger bins. Aeration may be accomplished with floor mounted ducts or portable aerators. Aeration fans should deliver 1/10 to 1 cfm per cwt of sunflower. If aeration is not available, sunflower should be rotated between bins to avoid hot spots developing in the stored grain. For more on harvest and storage, visit www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/HarvestingStorage/

USDA provides help with blackbirds

Now is a good time to remove blackbird roosting locations, such as cattails. Cattails serve as blackbird habitat, so it is in the sunflower producer’s best interest to get rid of as much as possible. The USDA can help with blackbird control. Visit: NORTH DAKOTA (sunflowernsa.com) for a map with phone numbers for USDA Wildlife Services personnel that can help North and South Dakota producers who 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 together. For more information on blackbird control, visit Blackbirds (sunflowernsa.com).

Upcoming Events

January 10-11, 2024 - NSA Research Forum; Holiday Inn; Fargo, ND
June 25-27, 2024 - NSA Summer Seminar; Duluth, MN

Markets at a Glance

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, September 25, 2023 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2024 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	66.11	63.29	58.75	-4.54	57.48
West Fargo, ND	NuSun	27.50	NQ	NQ	unch	NQ
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	28.50	17.50	17.25	-.25	NQ
Enderlin, ND	NuSun	26.20	NQ	NQ	unch	NQ
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	22.20	NQ	NQ	unch	NQ
Lamar, CO	High Oleic	27.75	18.50	18.50	unch	NQ

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, September 25, 2023
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. locations)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	73.11	67.89	64.25	-3.64
Cotton Oil (pbsy)	116.11	97.39	93.75	-3.64
Corn Oil	126.00	75.00	75.00	unch

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.

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