Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Feb 01 2021

Submit a Survey about Blackbird Damage

NDSU researchers want to hear from you! In an effort to understand the current issues faced by sunflower producers regarding blackbird damage, we request that you fill out a survey. Your feedback will provide valuable information and drive future research directions for controlling blackbird damage in sunflower. Are you a producer that has never experienced blackbird damage? Your responses are still needed! Be on the lookout for this survey in your mail! We appreciate your time filling out this short survey – return postage has been provided. If you prefer to fill out the survey online, it can be completed at the following link: https://ndstate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1UoXI3SKlKGW8PH. The survey is administered through North Dakota State University and supported by The National Sunflower Association.

Nominations invited for NSA Gold Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2021 NSA Gold Award. Visit www.sunflowernsa.com/all-about/goldaward/ for the eligibility and criteria requirements. Nominations must be received by February 12, 2021. The NSA Board of Directors will review all submitted applications and choose a winner. The Gold Award will be presented during this year’s NSA Summer Seminar, set for June 22-24 in Duluth, MN. Each year, the National Sunflower Association presents its Gold Award to an individual who has contributed extraordinarily to the overall sunflower industry, either through his or her occupation or through the National Sunflower Association. This award is considered to be the highest award that the NSA presents to individuals. The award has been given since 1989.

Ag Horizons Conference starting February 7th.

Ag Horizon has changed its format to protect the health of attendees by providing its presentations virtually. Ag Horizons provides producers information on crop marketing, ag economy, political changes, farming techniques and new crop varieties. This year’s conference will feature 10 presenters. For more info go to: SD Wheat and click on the Ag Horizons link.

Markets

Last week the CBoT featured plenty of price volatility. Large Chinese purchases along with a sluggish start to this season’s South American oilseed harvest provided ample temptation for technical buying. On the downside, grains are sitting on historically large net long positions, which can leave prices vulnerable when those positions get liquidated if speculators get skittish. In the sunflower market, nearby NuSun and high oleic prices ended the week up 10 to 30 cents. 2021 new crop prices for NuSun and high oleic sunflower were mixed at down $1.50 to up 20 cents. On February 1, the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) will begin the discovery process in determining 2021 crop insurance price elections for sunflower. Producers have the option of choosing Yield Protection, Revenue Protection, and Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Exclusion. All three policies have the same price election. To follow the direction for sunflower price elections, watch the 2021 CBoT December soyoil contract during the month of February. Final price elections will be announced in early March. Harvest is underway in South America. 2020/21 soybean production in Argentina has been slightly trimmed from earlier estimates due to hot, dry weather experienced earlier in the season. In Brazil, most analysts are still expecting a bin-busting soybean crop of around 4.850 billion bushels, even despite some delays prompted by uncooperative weather throughout the 2020/21 season.

Upcoming North Dakota County Elections

Growers are invited to attend elections in their county for the sunflower representatives to the North Dakota Oilseed Council. Elections are being held in several areas this month. Here’s a list by county:

Burleigh County: February 9, 12 p.m., Bismarck Event Center
Pierce County: February 9, 9:00 a.m. Zoom Meeting
Foster County, February 10, 11:15 a.m., NDSU Carrington REC
Sheridan County: February 11, 11:15 a.m., City Hall, McClusky
Eddy County: February 19, 10:00 a.m., Zoom Meeting
Wells County: February 19, 10:00 a.m., Zoom Meeting
Towner County: February 23, 10:00 a.m., Zoom Meeting
Rolette County: February 24, 9:00 a.m., Extension Office, Rolla
Kidder County: February 25, 1;00 p.m., Tappen Hall, Tappen
Stutsman County: February 25, 11:30 a.m., Extension Office, Jamestown

District elections will be held in March. For more information, visit www.oilseedcouncil.nd.gov

NSA scholarship available

The National Sunflower Association is seeking applicants for the Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship. In tribute to the dedicated work of Curtis Stern, an industry advocate and former NSA board member. Preference will be given to students who are in their last two years of undergraduate studies or in graduate level studies and have maintained at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0=A scale. Application deadline is April 1, 2021. A total of $5,000 is available for the scholarship this year. Applications can be submitted online. Visit www.ndcf.net/receive/scholarships/stern.html learn more. Contact Tina Mittelsteadt at tinam@sunflowernsa.com with any questions.

Upcoming Events

February 7-13, 2021– Ag Horizons Conference, Virtual
March 12, 2021– NSA High Plains Committee Meeting, Goodland, KS
June 22-24, 2021 – NSA Summer Seminar, Duluth, MN

Markets at a Glance

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, February 1, 2021 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2021 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	29.94	42.94	44.97	+2.03	40.48
West Fargo, ND	NuSun	19.90	19.60	19.70	+.10	20.00
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	20.10	19.70	19.80	+.10	20.25
Enderlin, ND	NuSun	19.80	19.30	19.60	+.30	20.05
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	20.00	19.30	19.60	+.30	20.30
Goodland, KS	NuSun	18.65	18.45	18.55	+.10	17.35
Goodland, KS	High Oleic	19.40	19.45	19.55	+.10	18.35

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.

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, February 1, 2021
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	29.44	44.26	45.97	+1.71
Cotton Oil (psby)	36.94	67.94	69.97	+2.03
Corn Oil	39.00	65.00	69.00	+4.00

The National Sunflower Association (NSA) is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Anyone requesting special accommodation should notify NSA within a reasonable time frame. NSA will accommodate reasonable requests.