Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Mar 25 2024

North Dakota Oilseed Council Election Results

North Dakota sunflower producers Adam Bettenhausen and Myron Dieterle have been elected to the North Dakota Oilseed Council and the NSA Board of Directors. Bettenhausen from Wishek, ND will serve his first three-year term, representing District 4, which includes the North Dakota counties of Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh, and Stutsman. Dieterle from Kief, ND will serve his fourth three-year term representing District 5, which includes the counties of Benson, Eddy, Foster, Pierce, Rolette, Sheridan, Towner, and Wells.

N Calculator available for North Dakota producers

With fertilizer prices at the high levels and producers looking to control costs, check out the North Dakota Nitrogen Calculator for sunflower. You can find the calculator at www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/soils/sunflower/. The calculator uses new nitrogen recommendations, which were updated for the first time since the 1970s. There are also new recommendations for phosphorus (P) for sunflower in the northern Great Plains. The new N and P recommendations are based on general productivity history and not a yield prediction model. N and P recommendations are based on both documented yield responses to each and economic analysis. The calculator does not immediately support sunflower prices above 30 cents per pound or N prices greater than $1/lb N. However, if you divide each value (sunflower price AND N cost) by 2, and insert these values into the calculator, the proper N recommendation will result. The NDSU Fertilizing Sunflower Circular SF713 with the new recommendations can be found online at: SF713 Fertilizing Sunflower [2016].indd (sunflowernsa.com)

Markets

Nearby prices were unchanged to up 30 cents with new crop prices unchanged to up 25 cents this week at the crush plants. This week expect a lot of market chatter about projected U.S. planted acreage. USDA releases its first official planted acreage estimates in the March Prospective Plantings Report on Thursday March 28. The March numbers typically change following planting, but it is the first look at acres for traders. Changes could be in store in the June 30 Acreage Report depending on how planting goes this spring. A cool and wet spring has the potential to throw off planting progress and rotations. Without favorable planting weather across the Northern and High Plains states in the coming weeks acreage shifts could occur. As a result, planted acres are likely to remain a moving target for the next couple months leading to market volatility. Traders are hoping for an ideal growing season with good yields to restock domestic supplies. As always, mother nature has the final say in what gets planted. Market analysts are forecasting planted area about 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. Traders will also focus on 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, 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.

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 25-27, 2024 - NSA Summer Seminar; Duluth, MN

Markets at a Glance

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, March 25, 2024 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2024 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	54.55	48.70	49.02	+.32	49.00
West Fargo, ND	NuSun	21.00	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	21.50	13.85	14.15	+.30	20.00
Enderlin, ND	NuSun	22.30	13.50	13.50	NC	NQ
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	22.80	14.00	14.00	NC	19.00
Lamar, CO	High Oleic	23.25	15.70	15.70	NC	20.00

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, March 25, 2024
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. locations)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	59.55	51.70	52.02	+.32
Cotton Oil (pbsy)	99.55	73.70	74.02	+.32
Corn Oil	96.00	59.00	59.00	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.