Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: May 15 2023

Registration is open for our 2023 NSA Summer Seminar, scheduled for June 27-29, 2023. This year’s Summer Seminar will be held in Spearfish, South Dakota. You can register on our website – go to 2023 NSA Summer Seminar (sunflowernsa.com). You’ll find our schedule as well as hotel information and more. Pre-registration will begin at $325 and golf at $130, so register early for the best price. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Spearfish Holiday Inn and Conference Center. To reserve your room, call 605-642-4683 or Hotel in Spearfish | Holiday Inn Spearfish-Convention Center Hotel (ihg.com) using the group code NSA. The rate is $129.99 per night plus taxes for Standard Rooms and $159.99 per night plus taxes for Suites. The block of rooms will expire on May 27, 2023. Contact Tina Mittelsteadt at tinam@sunflowernsa.com with questions.

Send us your story ideas

With another production season upon us, we at the National Sunflower Association likewise have begun planning for the next publishing season of 'The Sunflower' magazine. As always, our goal with the magazine is to provide news and articles of real interest and use to our readership which consists mainly of sunflower producers around the U.S. and Canada. Our goal, of course, is to provide information that our readers won't find elsewhere. Would you please aid us in this endeavor; over the coming weeks and months, by suggesting potential topics or persons to interview for articles? We rely upon folks such as yourself for story 'leads' and would be grateful for any suggestions you can pass along. Submit your ideas to: johns@sunflowernsa.com

Shifting acres to sunflower choose the right hybrid

With the current excessively wet soil conditions in some areas of North Dakota, some producers may want to shift some acres from other crops to sunflower production. If you are considering changing acres, it would be important to select an appropriate hybrid. NDSU conducts yield trials at various locations across North Dakota each year. Sunflower hybrid trial results are available at: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/varietytrials/sunflower

Markets

This week, old crop sunflower prices at the ND crush plants were down 35 to 65 cents, with 2023 new crop down 30 to 50 cents. Old and new crop prices were down 50 cents at the Lamar, CO plant. According to the USDA March Planting Intentions report, growers intend to plant 1.36 million acres of sunflowers in 2023, down 20 percent from 2022. Using a trend yield, the initial estimate of 2023 US sunflower production is pegged at 2.3 billion pounds, which would represent a decrease of 18 percent from last year. Most of the reduction is anticipated in oil-type sunflowers, with intended acres at 1.20 million down 22 percent from 2022. Based on intended acreage and using a trend yield, oil-type sunflower production may decline to 2 billion pounds in 2023 down 22 percent from last year. The USDA report showed planting of sunflower acres much lower than expected by the trade. With lower than anticipated acres, diversifying market risk with some sunflower acres would be a good option in 2023. In addition to demand news and planting progress, traders continue to monitor the situation in the Black Sea area. Talks are taking place as officials try to hammer out an extension to the Black Sea Grain Initiative that's keeping agricultural products flowing out of Ukraine. Failure to extend the agreement would strangle global supplies as it would restrict current Ukrainian shipping paces and deter Ukrainian farmers from planting more acreage this spring.

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