Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Oct 21 2024

Crop Progress - Monday, October 21, 2024

State	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Year Average
North Dakota
Mature	92	81	91	93
Harvested	28	10	19	27
South Dakota
Mature	96	82	86	--
Harvested	27	15	19	24
Minnesota
Harvested	39	24	55	44
Texas
Harvested	96	93	91	83
Kansas
Harvested	48	40	67	44
Colorado
Harvested	58	30	53	48

Crop Conditions - Monday, October 21, 2024

State	Timeframe	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
North Dakota	This week	1	3	31	62	3
	Last week	1	2	35	59	3
Colorado	This week	12	17	43	25	3
	Last week	21	26	37	15	1
South Dakota	This week	5	4	26	60	5
	Last week	5	6	30	54	5

Grower Report

Kennedy, MN grower Tom Dowdle says they received their first hard freeze of the season a week ago with temperatures dipping down into the mid 20’s. He hopes to start harvesting in about a week. He noticed minor banded head moth damage on the edge of fields by the ditches and some stocks showed signs of Phomopsis. Tom says his crop looks good. The heads are filled to the middle and they have a good stand. He is hoping they are in the ton to ton and a half range.

Markets

Sunflower prices continue to move higher at the crush plants. Nearby and 2025 new crop prices at the crush plants are unchanged to up 50 cents this week. October and November prices are in the range of $18.00-$19.50 per cwt depending on the location. 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. For example, the $18.50 contract increases to $20.35 when the oil premium is added. Another week of largely clear weather allowed sunflower harvest progress to advance. About 31% of sunflowers were in the bin as of last week, up from 16% seven days earlier and slightly ahead the prior five-year average of 27% for this time of year, the USDA said. In the past week, producers harvested an additional 97,950 acres pushing 2024 harvested acres to about 202,525 acres. Weather in the next two weeks is expected to remain warmer than average with a slight chance of precipitation in the sunflower growing region. This will aid in getting the harvest done in a timely manner.

Call for Papers

Here’s your chance to be a part of the National Sunflower Association’s Research Forum. We are looking for research papers to be presented at the NSA Research Forum, set for January 8-9, 2025, 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 2025 Call for Papers (sunflowernsa.com) 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 9, 2025.

2023/24 Marketing Year Sunflower Exports

Exports of kernel are up 13% from a year ago, from 2,870 metric tons (MT) to 3,235 MT from October 2023 to August 2024. Canada remains the top importer of U.S. sunflower kernel, importing 2,000 MT. In-shell exports decreased 5% from 13,027 MT to 12,425 MT from October 2023 to August 2024. Mexico remains the top importer of in-shell sunflower, importing 4,652 MT with Spain a close second importing 3,165 MT during the period. Sunflower oil exports are down 17% from a year ago, from 29,257 MT to 24,138 MT from October 2023 to August 2024. Canada remains the top importer, importing 15,708 MT down 17% from a year ago. Mexico is the number two destination importing 3,035 MT during the period.

Upcoming Events

January 8-9, 2025 - NSA Research Forum; Holiday Inn; Fargo, ND
June 24-26, 2025 - NSA Summer Seminar; Bismarck, ND

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, October 21, 2024 ($/CWT)

	Deliver	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change	2025 NEW Crop
Chicago Oil	Nearby	51.94	41.90	42.23	+.33	41.74
West Fargo, ND	NuSun	NQ	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
West Fargo, ND	High Oleic	16.75	18.65	18.75	+.10	21.50
Enderlin, ND	NuSun	15.50	NQ	NQ	NC	NQ
Enderlin, ND	High Oleic	16.50	18.50	18.65	+.15	21.50
Lamar, CO	High Oleic	17.50	19.50	19.50	NC	21.00

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, October 21, 2024
(dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. locations)

	Last Year	Last Week	This Week	Change
Soybean Oil	57.44	42.40	42.73	+.33
Cotton Oil (pbsy)	86.94	66.90	67.23	+.33
Corn Oil	72.00	45.00	45.00	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.

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