Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Aug 26 2024

Crop Progress - Monday, August 26, 2024

State	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Year Average
North Dakota
Blooming	90	79	96	96
Petals Dry	12	1	36	34
Bracts Yellow	--	--	4	19
South Dakota
Blooming	95	83	90	--
Petals Dry	--	--	13	--
Texas
Harvested	58	54	51	48

Crop Conditions - Monday, August 26, 2024

State	Timeframe	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
North Dakota	This week	1	5	21	67	6
	Last week	0	1	28	68	3
Minnesota	This week	0	1	28	66	5
	Last week	0	1	27	58	14
Colorado	This week	18	20	21	39	2
	Last week	14	23	27	29	7
South Dakota	This week	1	9	23	61	6
	Last week	0	6	25	64	5

Benefits of desiccation

Now is a great time to start thinking about desiccating your sunflower crop. Getting the crop harvested several weeks early can result in higher yields and lower drying costs. Late season crop damage and blackbird damage can be reduced, and desiccation may also slow down head diseases such as Sclerotinia. Early dry down can also minimize artificial drying costs. September and the first half of October harvest can often allow the use of air-drying to lower seed moisture in storage. Visit Desiccant Considerations (sunflowernsa.com) to learn more about desiccation.

Markets

Old and new crop prices were unchanged this week at the crush plants. In its recent world supply and demand report USDA pegged global sunflower production for marketing year (MY) 2024/25 down 2.3 million metric tons (MMT) to 52.5 MMT. Lower output in Ukraine, Russia, the European Union (EU), Moldova, Serbia, and Turkey are the reason for the decline. With lower seed supply, global seed exports and crush were reduced this month. Global sunflower crush is forecast at 48.7 MMT, down 2.2 MMT from last month’s forecast. With the lower global crush, global sunflower oil production forecast was reduced this month by 0.9 MMT to 20.6 MMT. The global sunflower oil ending stocks for MY 2024/25 are expected to decline to 2.4 MMT, down 0.6 MMT from MY 2023/24. The market will continue to watch developments in the above-mentioned countries, especially the Black Sea region. Very warm to hot temperatures in the past week along with drier soil conditions have pushed the crop toward maturity in the Dakotas and Minnesota. However, crop development for the most part remains behind the five-year average and above normal temperatures would be welcome. If possible and if the crop has matured to a point where it can be desiccated and harvested, it is advisable to do so. 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.

USDA Provides Help with Blackbirds

Sunflowers are blooming and it is never too early to think about blackbird control. Local birds cause a large amount of damage as petals begin to dry and drop (R6 stage). Be proactive early on to minimize seed loss, do not wait for the buildup of large flocks. USDA Wildlife Services personnel can help North Dakota and South Dakota producers who have blackbird problems, call 701-355-3300. Some other ways to reduce damage include cattail management, cannons, harassment, desiccants, and repellants. These tools are even more effective when used together. For more on blackbirds, visit Blackbirds (sunflowernsa.com)

Sunflower U to be Held September 18th

Nuseed invites everyone to attend their 2024 Sunflower University Harvest Academy taking place at their sunflower breeding nursery near Rothsay MN, Wednesday, September 18th. Information will be presented by industry professionals covering sunflower harvesting tips, late-season disease identification and best practices for a successful crop. Register now using this QR code to secure your spot, in-person only.

Upcoming Events

January 8-9, 2025 - NSA Research Forum; Holiday Inn; Fargo, ND
June 24-26, 2025 - NSA Summer Seminar; Bismarck, ND

Markets at a Glance

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, August 26, 2024 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2024 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	66.99	40.47	41.70	+1.23	40.75
West Fargo, ND	NuSun	17.25	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	19.00	17.75	17.75	NC	18.25
Enderlin, ND	NuSun	NQ	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	NQ	17.50	17.50	NC	18.00
Lamar, CO	High Oleic	19.60	17.90	17.90	NC	20.00

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, August 26, 2024
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. locations)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	73.40	41.47	42.70	+1.23
Cotton Oil (pbsy)	101.90	65.47	66.70	+1.23
Corn Oil	75.00	47.00	47.00	NC

Prices recorded here are believed to be reliable at the time of posting. Individual companies have the right to correct any errors that may occur. Contact these facilities for complete market details.

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