Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Mar 10 2025

Steve Kent 2025 Gold Award Winner

Steve Kent has been named the 2025 NSA Gold Award winner. Steve grew up in west central Minnesota, in the town of Morris, where he enjoyed various sports and outdoor activities. He attended college at NDSU and graduated in 1978 with a degree in agronomy. Following graduation, Steve was hired by SIGCO, Research, Breckenridge, MN in the production department, the beginning of a career in the seed industry that spanned 40 years.

Steve held various production, sales and management positions during his 20 years with SIGCO Research/Agrigenetics/Mycogen Seeds. In 1999, Steve was hired as president of Seeds 2000, Breckenridge, MN, a position he held until 2012 when the business was sold to Nuseed. He remained on with Nuseed for six years in more of an advisory role until he retired in 2018.

His involvement with the NSA included various fundraising activities, chair of the research committee and a member of the selection committee for the Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship. Steve and his wife Nancy have 4 children and 10 grandchildren. In retirement, they enjoy traveling and attending many grandchildren activities. Steve also continues to enjoy fishing and hunting.

Markets

Nearby sunflower prices were down 50 cents to unchanged this week with new crop mixed at down 50 cents to up 15 cents at the crush plants. RMA has calculated crop insurance prices for spring crops. On the sunflower side, the projected price is 1% higher than last year at $24.00 for oil-type sunflower and 12% higher for confection sunflower at $32.20. The markets were dominated by trade policy news for most of last week. President Donald Trump on Thursday March 6 made short term exemptions to the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, the latest twist in fast shifting trade policy that has whipsawed commodity markets and farmers. Trump said on Thursday, March 6 that goods from both Canada and Mexico that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be exempt from 25% tariffs for a month. The tariffs were imposed earlier in the week. The exemption, which will expire on April 2, covers both of the two largest U.S. trading partners. Trump had earlier only mentioned an extension for Mexico, but the amended tariffs order covers Canada as well. The 25% tariffs remain in place for products that do not fall under USMCA. The revised date aligns with the administration’s plan to implement reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners. Needless to say, the market will be closely monitoring developments in trade policy in the near term, along with export demand news and South American oilseed production prospects.

Deadline is Approaching for NSA Scholarship

There is still time to submit applications for the National Sunflower Association’s Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship. Scholarship funds assist students who study in the field of agriculture with a special emphasis on sunflower production, promotion, or research. 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, 2025. 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 to learn more. Contact Tina Mittelsteadt at tinam@sunflowernsa.com with any questions.

Pest Management App Available

Tired of carrying around those thick pest management guides? Download the NDSU Pest Management app -- it includes everything that is printed in pest management guides, plus more. For example, the app has full color photos of weeds, insects, and diseases. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices – just search NDSU Pest Management or go to NDSU Pest Management App | NDSU Agriculture and Extension. The app is free, thanks to funding from several commodity groups, including the National Sunflower Association. Producers who use the app are encouraged to send comments and feedback to ndsu.pest.management@ndsu.edu

Upcoming Events

June 24-26, 2025 - NSA Summer Seminar; Bismarck, ND

Markets at a Glance

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, March 10, 2025 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2025 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	46.05	42.90	41.56	-1.34	42.57
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	13.85	27.00	27.00	NC	23.50
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	13.75	26.90	26.40	-.50	23.40
Lamar, CO	High Oleic	15.70	26.50	26.50	NC	25.00

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, March 10, 2025
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. locations)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	49.64	41.90	40.56	-1.34
Cotton Oil (pbsy)	71.64	67.90	66.56	-1.34
Corn Oil	59.00	46.00	46.00	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.

NSA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Anyone requesting special accommodation should notify NSA within a reasonable timeframe. NSA will accommodate reasonable requests.