Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Dec 18 2023

Registration is open for the 2024 NSA Research Forum, scheduled for January 10-11, 2024 at the Holiday Inn (3803 13^th Ave. S, Fargo, ND) Visit https://www.sunflowernsa.com/events/2024-NSA-Research-Forum/ to register. You’ll find hotel information there also. The Holiday Inn will honor the special NSA Research Forum price of $110 (plus tax) per night if there are rooms available but you must ask for our block. Call (701) 282-2700 to reserve your room. Registration fee is $130 until December 27, 2023, after which the fee increases to $145 until January 8, 2024. At that time, registration will close and registration at the door will be $170. The Forum will be an in-person event. No refunds will be given after December 27, 2023. If you have questions, contact Tina Mittelsteadt at tinam@sunflowernsa.com or visit our website.

Sunflower Production Update set for February 27

Sunflower producers and crop advisers interested in sunflower production management updates should plan to participate in the Zoom conference ‘2024 Getting-it-Right in Sunflower Production’ on Tuesday, February 27 from 8:30 a.m. to noon CST. The program will be conducted by North Dakota State University Extension and is supported by NSA. Topics that will be covered range from plant nutrient and soil management, updates for weed, disease and insect management, and sunflower marketing. Attendees will receive a list of several pertinent extension sunflower production resources as reference materials and are supplemental to the presentations. The presentations will be recorded and archived.

Certified crop adviser continuing education credits will be available for meeting participants. Pre-registration is required at:
https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/getting-it-right. This site also has video links to the previous sunflower production meeting. All who preregister will receive emailed instructions on how to participate in the meeting. The program is free of charge.

Markets

Crush plant prices continue to reflect seed supplies that are currently burdensome. Last year’s crop was huge and the 2023 yield is looking to be one of the best as well. Crop quality remains very good, and yields have been above expectations in most cases. Supplies are big despite smaller planted sunflower acres in 2023. The market needs time to use up the ample seed supply and this is being reflected in the significant price spread between nearby and deferred contracts. Given the current price scenario a good strategy may be to leave the seed in the bin for now and look at delivering it down the road. Something else to consider is the oil premiums that crush plants pay on sunflowers. Add on the premium for oil content above 40% at a rate of 2% price premium for each 1% of oil above 40% when making marketing decisions. In the near term, the latest headlines from demand news and El Nino weather conditions in South America will all be attentively watched by CBoT traders. Soybean production in Brazil even with all the country's weather issues, is still on track to be a record. They are also gearing up for USDA’s annual crop production report that will be released in early January. Sunflower yield, acreage and production will be updated from the October estimates. With the holiday season upon us trading will probably be somewhat quiet and may trade sideways until after the holidays.

Production guides available on NSA website

It’s never too early to think about spring planting. Our Sunflower Production Resource Books have lots of helpful information. Visit www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/Production-Resource-Books/ to check out the book for your area. The books provide guidelines and recommendations on production practices, pest identification, field selection and more.

Yield Trial Data Available

When deciding whether to plant NuSun or high oleic hybrids on your farm do some research to see which hybrids will have the best yields in your growing area. Yield trials conducted by USDA and universities are an important way for producers to look at a hybrid's performance in several locations, over several years and environments. Use this link to the NSA website to see the latest yield trial data: Yield Trials & Hybrid Disease Ratings (sunflowernsa.com)

Holiday break

This edition of Sunflower Highlights will be the last for 2023. We will return with the weekly newsletter on January 8, 2024. Happy holidays!

Upcoming Events

January 10-11, 2024 - NSA Research Forum; Holiday Inn; Fargo, ND
January 16-17, 2024 - Cover Your Acres; Oberlin, KS
February 6-7, 2024 - High Plains No-Till Conference; Burlington, CO

Seed Quality - Monday, December 18, 2023

High Plains	2023	2022	Northern Plains	2023	2022
Oil Content	38.4%	40.0%	Oil Content	44.7%	45.1%
Foreign Material	6.7%	5.9%	Foreign Material	3.8%	4.1%
Moisture	7.3%	7.3%	Moisture	8.3%	8.5%
Test Weight	28.6 lbs.	29.0 lbs.	Test Weight	30.4 lbs.	30. lbs.

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, December 18, 2023 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2024 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	64.41	51.06	50.64	-.42	49.82
West Fargo, ND	NuSun	24.00	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	25.90	16.15	16.00	-.15	19.00
Enderlin, ND	NuSun	24.40	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	25.90	16.05	16.05	NC	20.00
Lamar, CO	High Oleic	27.00	17.20	17.00	-.20	20.00

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, December 18, 2023
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. locations)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	70.91	54.61	54.14	-.47
Cotton Oil (pbsy)	114.41	81.11	80.64	-.47
Corn Oil	119.00	64.00	64.00	NC

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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