Regent, North Dakota grower, Josh Greff is about three quarters of the way done harvesting his sunflowers. He says that is the same for most growers in his area. The weather has been all over the place lately from raining to extremely windy. They were hit with a very early frost that has affected some of his crops. He says that over half of his sunflower crop was hit with hail this summer. The two fields he has left to harvest he thinks should be decent.

Registration is now open for the 2026 NSA Research Forum, scheduled for January 7-8, 2026 at the Holiday Inn (3803 13th Ave. S, Fargo, ND). Visit 2026 NSA Research Forum to register for the Forum at the early bird price of $150.  You’ll find hotel information there as well.

We are looking for research papers to be presented at the NSA Research Forum, set for January 7-8, 2026, in Fargo, ND. Presentations may be either oral or in the form of a poster. A time will be designated for authors to be with their posters and answer questions. Each oral presentation will be limited to 15-17 minutes with 2-3 minutes allowed for questions. Visit 2026 Call for Papers if you are interested in presenting a paper. You do not have to submit the actual paper or poster at this time, just the information indicated online and the author information. Submissions must be completed by December 8, 2025.

Nearby prices at the crush plants are up 15 to 25 cents in a range of $21.15-$21.25 this week. Compared to last year at this same time nearby prices are trading $1.80-$2.00 per cwt. higher depending on location. North Dakota crush plants continue to take in seed at higher moisture levels than normally allowed to aid producers in getting their sunflowers harvested. 2026 new crop cash and Act of God (AOG) high oleic contracts at the crush plants are in a range of  $22.20-$23.00. Something else to consider is the oil premiums that crush plants pay on sunflowers. Sunflower is the only oilseed that pays premiums for oil content above 40%. Considering oil premiums that are offered at the crush plants on oil content above 40% at a rate of 2% price premium for each 1% of oil above 40%; this pushes a contract with 45% oil content gross return 10% higher per cwt. The $22.20 contract increases to $24.40, and the $22.80 contract moves up to $25.10. Very favorable weather conditions in the past week should have allowed sunflower producers to make good harvest progress. The weather conditions in the Northern Plains are expected to remain warmer than normal with a near normal precipitation pattern in the next two weeks. These conditions should allow the remaining harvest to move forward.

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