Nearby prices were unchanged to up 25 cents with new crop prices unchanged to up 30 cents this week at the crush plants. This week USDA releases its latest supply and demand report. The USDA figures are expected to be closely aligned with trade expectations that have been priced into the market. Traders will likely continue to grapple with supplies showing up on the balance sheet as the marketing year unfolds but are more concerned with weather conditions in the U.S. in the near term. Sunflower producers are in the home stretch of wrapping up this year’s planting season. Planting continues in all states and is ahead of the five-year averages in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, and North Dakota. South Dakota, and Texas are behind the five-year average planting pace. In the past week, producers made excellent progress and planted an additional 253,690 acres pushing 2026 planted acres to about 834,000 acres. This represents 63% of this year’s projected planted acres and is ahead of the five-year average of 53%. Last year at this same time 56% of total projected acres were planted. Weather conditions are expected to continue to be favorable in the next two weeks for planting. On June 30, USDA will release its 2026 planted acres report and will be an important factor in determining old and new crop prices. Look for demand news and position squaring ahead of USDA’s acreage report to guide the market this week.