Sunflower Highlights
Post Date: Mar 18 2024
Canada sunflower acres to decrease
According to Statistics Canada data, Canadian farmers intend to plant 83,500 acres of sunflowers this spring, which is down 16 percent from 2023. Last year Canadian farmers planted 99,200 acres of sunflower. The 2024 intended acreage is 12 percent below the five-year average of 94,585 acres. The majority of Canada’s sunflower crop is grown in Manitoba, with production also in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
BeSure! This Growing Season
Planters will be rolling soon, and the growing season will be upon us! This year, BeSure! is back with its annual national campaign to promote best management practices. Agriculture stakeholders appreciate how neonicotinoid seed treatments, foliar sprays, soil drenches and granules increase yields and boost revenues, but they are also committed to protecting bees and other wildlife. This spring,growers and applicators can follow a few simple guidelines to BeSure! they’re using pesticides safely. To learn more visit: GrowingMatters.org/BeSure
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, 2024. 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.
Markets
Nearby and new crop prices were unchanged this week at the crush plants. March WASDE reports are typically quiet, and last week’s report was not an exception. Despite hopes for smaller Brazilian corn and soybean crops leading up to last week’s WASDE report, USDA only made minor cuts to Brazil’s 2023/24 soybean crop while adding more volume to anticipated Brazilian soybean exports. For soybeans, Brazil’s harvest is looking large and its traditional peak time for exports is approaching, providing more competition to U.S. sales. On March 28, the USDA will release important reports that will have an impact on the markets. These include the planting intentions, and the quarterly stocks estimates. The planting intentions report will be very important. Market analysts are forecasting planted area in the neighborhood of 47.0 million acres for wheat (down from 49.6 million acres in 2023), 91 million acres for corn (down from 94.6 million acres) and 87.5 million acres for soybeans (up from 83.6 million acres). Traders will use the USDA acreage estimates as the starting point for supply and demand estimates for the 2024/25 marketing year. After these reports are released, traders will begin to look at North American weather and potential weather problems that may arise given dry conditions that have set in after a drier than normal winter in many locations. In the near term, South American weather and crop production estimates will continue to be the main market mover.
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