The 2025 U.S. Sunflower Crop Quality Report is now available on the NSA website. To view the report, follow this link to our website: www.sunflowernsa.com/stats/us-crop-quality/. The U.S. Sunflower Crop Quality Report is produced annually by the National Sunflower Association. The report contains useful information about sunflower acreage and production, confection and oil-type seed quality, high oleic and high oleic oil quality analysis and oil traits, product specifications, oil trading rules, statistics on marketing the crop, world and U.S. supply and demand tables, sunflower oil and meal exports for the United States and other related topics of interest to those in the industry

Something else to consider when making final planting decisions is the oil premiums that crush plants pay on sunflower. Sunflower is the only oilseed that pays premiums for oil content above 40%. Considering oil premiums that are offered at the crush plants on oil content above 40% at a rate of 2% price premium for each 1% of oil above 40%; this pushes a contract with 45% oil content gross return 10% higher per cwt. The AOG $22.30 contract increases to $24.50, and the cash $23.10 contract moves up to $25.40. See for yourself how the oil premium can add to the bottom line by going to: Oil Premium Calculator (sunflowernsa.com)

Nearby prices were up 25 to 50 cents with new crop prices down 20 cents to unchanged this week at the crush plants. USDA released its first estimate of 2026 planted acres. Sunflower growers intend to plant 1.39 million sunflower acres in 2026, an increase of 8 percent from last year’s planted area. Compared with last year, growers in five of the eight major sunflower producing states expect an increase in planted acreage this year. Area intended for oil type varieties, at 1,294,000 acres, is up 9 percent from 2025. Area intended for non-oil varieties, estimated at 91,500 acres, is down 8 percent from last year. The soybean planted area for 2026 is estimated at 84.7 million acres, up 4 percent from last year. Corn planted area for 2026 is estimated at 95.3 million acres, down 3 percent from last year. Spring wheat acreage is expected to decrease to 8.78 million acres, down 6 percent from last year, with durum decreasing 11 percent from last year to 1.95 million acres. USDA also released the quarterly Grain Stocks report. Corn stocks were pegged lower than the average trade expectation while soybeans and wheat were pegged higher. The March acreage and grain stocks reports will guide the market as we head into the planting season. It will also give farmers a look at what others are thinking of planting this year and may adjust their plans. The March numbers rarely match final acreage estimates for the year. Weather always has the final say in final acreage outlays and a lot can change in the next several weeks.

People who work with grain—loading it, unloading it, and moving it from bin to bin—need to know about the hazards of flowing grain and how to prevent a grain entrapment situation. People can become trapped in grain in three different ways: the collapse of bridged grain, the collapse of a vertical wall of grain and entrapment in flowing grain. Moving or flowing grain is involved in all three. Here are some general safety precautions:

• Don’t let children work or play in an area where there is flowing grain.
• All workers involved in a situation where there is flowing grain should be warned to stay out of the grain.
• Warning decals should be placed at all bin entrances, on all rail cars, truck and trailer boxes used for grain hauling and on all gravity discharge wagons.
• Never enter a grain bin without stopping the auger first and using “lock-out/tag-out” procedures to secure it.
• Never enter a grain bin alone; have at least two people at the bin to assist in case problems arise. Use a safety harness or safety line when entering the bin.
• Install a permanent lifeline hanging from the center of the bin for a person to grab on to.
• Control the access to grain storage facilities to prevent grain entrapments.

For more information, check out the NDSU publication “Caught in the Grain.” It’s available here: www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/crops/caught-in-the-grain

June 23-25, 2026 - NSA Summer Seminar; Deadwood, SD

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