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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Aug 02 2021

Crop Progress - Monday, August 2, 2021 State This Week Last Week Last Year 5 Year Average North Dakota         Blooming 49 15 49 50 Texas         Harvested NA 26 35 19

Crop Conditions - Monday, August 2, 2021 State Timeframe Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent North Dakota This week 9 26 40 23 2   Last week 7 29 44 19 1 Minnesota This week 6 16 46 32 0   Last week 5 11 48 36 0 Colorado This week 0 8 25 62 5   Last week 0 8 30 56 6

Scout for grasshoppers

Be vigilant on scouting for grasshoppers. Adult grasshoppers are becoming more common and can do more damage quickly to maturing field crops. As small grains are harvested, grasshoppers will start moving around more to find ‘greener’ field crops to feed in. NDSU IPM Scouts detected increasing numbers in most areas of North Dakota last week. Action Threshold for Adult Grasshoppers: 21-40 per square yard in field margins or 8-14 per square yard in the field.

Grower report

Onida, South Dakota grower Chuck Todd says his sunflower crop is looking pretty good and not showing any sign of distress. He has some fields with petals that should be in full bloom this week. The sunflowers that were planted later are only 10” tall. The later planted crop has a thinner stand. As far as insect or disease issues, he has a few plants with sun scalding which is to be expected but has seen no rust or weevil issues as of yet. Soil moisture is very short in the Onida area. The last time they received any significant rain was July 5-6 when they received 1.5 inches.

Markets

It was a fairly quiet week in the sunflower market. Birdfood continues to trade in a range of $28-$30 in the Dakotas. Nearby and new crop prices at the crush plants were up 10 to 15 cents establishing new market highs again. In addition, the August contract added $1.10-$1.20 this week to move up to $29.50 in the Dakotas. New crop NuSun is priced at $27.30-$27.90 with high oleic at $27.80-$28.40 at the North Dakota crush plants. In the High Plains, nearby and new crop high oleics prices are $27.25. Sunflowers are mostly in the late bud stage or blooming in the Dakotas and Minnesota. With severe to exceptional drought conditions prevalent throughout the area, the crop could use a good drink during this important development phase. However, it is looking like not much will change for weather conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota, the next two weeks. Above average temperatures and below normal precipitation are expected to continue. In Texas, harvest is on-going making good progress. Commodity traders are starting to get into position for USDA’s August crop reports. August 12th will be a huge day for commodity markets as USDA will release its latest supply and demand reports and first report of FSA certified acres. The FSA figures will be compared to the USDA June acreage report and will give the market a better idea of what got planted this year. This data and weather conditions will guide traders in the coming weeks.

Examine crop for rust

Rust is most often found on the lower under-side of leaves. The pustules are cinnamon-red and readily recognizable. Yield loss can occur and control measures should be considered when rust reaches approximately 1% severity on the upper four leaves and the plant is in the vegetative stages until it reaches the R6 stage. An infestation on the upper leaves at R6 or later will not likely have a negative yield affect. Fortunately, rust can be managed with well-timed fungicide applications. To learn more about rust, visit www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/diseases/rust-damage-and-control/

Start scouting for banded sunflower moth and red sunflower weevil

As sunflower fields begin to bloom, adults of red sunflower seed weevil (RSSW) will be emerging and will fly to the nearest flowering sunflowers. RRSW are small (2.5 to 3.1 mm long) with a snout and are reddish-orange. Banded sunflower moth (BSM) can be identified by their small size (1/4 inch long) and forewings with a triangular, dark brown band across the middle of the wing. Once the decision to treat has been made, it is critical to time the spray application correctly to get effective management of all sunflower head insects, including RRSW, BSM, sunflower moth and Lygus bug. The best sunflower plant stage to treat is when the majority of plants are in the R5.1 growth stge. Visit www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/Insects/  to read more about scouting for insects and the best treatments. To see the insecticides registered in sunflower, visit www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/crops/north-dakota-field-crop-insect-management-guide.

Upcoming Events

August 26, 2021 - NSA High Plains Committee Meeting; Goodland, KS January 12-13, 2022 - NSA Research Forum; Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND

Markets at a Glance

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, August 2, 2021 ($/CWT)   Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2021 NEW Crop Chicago Oil Nearby 31.67 66.43 64.62 -1.81 62.59 West Fargo, ND NuSun 16.70 29.40 29.50 +.10 27.90 West Fargo, ND High Oleic 16.90 29.40 29.50 +.10 28.40 Enderlin, ND NuSun 16.60 29.50 29.50 unch 27.80 Enderlin, ND High Oleic 16.80 29.50 29.50 unch 28.30 Lamar, CO High Oleic NA 27.25 27.25 unch 27.25

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, August 2, 2021 (dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)   Last Year Last Week This Week Change Soybean Oil 30.92 94.43 91.71 -2.72 Cotton Oil (psby) 43.22 104.43 101.71 -2.72 Corn Oil 71.00 84.00 84.00 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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