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Sunflower Highlights

Post Date: Sep 16 2019

Crop Progress

Harvest continues in Texas, where 62% of the crop is reported harvested. In North Dakota, the sunflower crop is beginning to mature.

Crop Progress - Monday, September 16, 2019 State This Week Last Week Last Year 5 Year Average North Dakota         Petals Dry 78 66 92 87 Bracts Yellow 49   79 61 Mature 7 4 38 --- Texas         Harvested 62 57 63 54

Crop Conditions - Monday, September 16, 2019 State Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent North Dakota 1 2 16 75 6 Colorado 0 0 23 67 10 Minnesota 0 0 28 60 12

Research Grant Applications Being Accepted

Research is an important part of the NSA’s mission. Each year, the NSA provides grants to public researchers to stimulate new or additional work that may result in lower production costs, increased quality and higher yields. Pre-proposals for projects to be considered for funding in 2020 are now being accepted. Click here to read more and to submit pre-proposals.

Grower Report

After a dry spring, it’s been an extremely wet September for Tioga, North Dakota producer TJ Halverson. Halverson grows about 1,800 acres of high oleic sunflower in northwestern North Dakota. He says in the past two weeks, more than six inches of rain has fallen in his area. Still, he says his sunflower crop looks to be at least average yields. Halverson says the sunflower are close to maturity. He expects to be harvesting by the end of October, which he says is pretty close to a normal harvest start date in his area.

Consider Cattail Control

Now is a good time to remove blackbird roosting locations, such as cattails. Cattails serve as blackbird habitat, so it is in the sunflower producer’s best interest to get rid of as much as possible. The USDA can help with blackbird control. Click here for a map with phone numbers for USDA Wildlife Services personnel that can help North Dakota producers who have blackbird problems. They will respond to you during the damage season by providing loaner cannons and pyrotechnics. These offices will provide further assistance in an attempt to break up large roosts. Using a combination of cattail management, cannons, harassment, desiccants and repellants can be even more effective when used in combination. For more information on blackbird control, click here.

Sunflower Stem Diseases

A visit to sunflower fields this time of year can provide information on what diseases you might face in future years. This is particularly true with stem diseases. Two stem diseases—charcoal rot and verticillium wilt—tend to be more common in dry years, while Phoma, Phomopsis and Sclerotinia stalk rot tend to be more common in years with adequate or excessive moisture. Click here to learn more about these diseases.

Upcoming Events

January 8-9, 2020 NSA Research Forum Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND

Markets

Sunflower prices at the crush plants ended the week mixed at down 5 cents to up 40 cents. According to the September USDA Farm Service Agency crop acreage report, area planted to sunflower in 2019 increased 3 percent from 2018 and totals 1.33 million acres. Planted area of oil type varieties, at 1.18 million acres, is up 1 percent from 2017. Planted acreage of non-oil varieties, estimated at 154,800 acres, is up 13 percent from last year. Using a trend yield, initial estimates peg the US sunflower crop at around 1,000,000 MT, which compares to last year’s total of 960,000 MT. If realized this level of planted acreage will create tight ending stocks at the end of the 2019/20 marketing year given current usage. USDA will release its first estimate of US harvested sunflower acres and production in October. USDA pegged global sunflower production in 2019/20 at 52.6 million metric tons (MMT), this figure is up about 1.2 MMT from last year. The increase is mainly due to a larger crop in Russia and Ukraine. Argentina and European Union production is expected to be unchanged from last year. Global crush is projected to increase based on the higher production figure. Sunflower oil trade is forecast to rise, supported by very strong demand in India, European Union, North Africa, and the Middle East. Ending seed stocks are expected to stay relatively low representing only 5.4% of annual usage.

Weekly Prices Recorded on Monday, September 16, 2019 ($/CWT)   Deliver Last Year Last Week This Week Change 2019 NEW Crop Chicago Oil Nearby 27.43 28.26 30.14 +1.88 31.82 Fargo, ND NuSun 17.30 18.55 18.50 -.05 17.40 Fargo, ND High Oleic 17.40 18.75 18.80 +.05 17.60 Enderlin, ND NuSun 17.35 18.40 18.40 NC 17.30 Enderlin, ND High Oleic 17.35 18.70 18.70 NC 17.60 Goodland, KS NuSun 16.95 16.45 16.70 +.25 16.70 Goodland, KS High Oleic 18.10 17.55 17.95 +.40 17.95 Prices recorded here are believed to be reliable at the time of posting. All prices are subject to change. Contact these facilities for complete market details.

U.S. CRUDE OIL VALUES recorded on Monday, September 16, 2019 (dollars per 100 lb. internal U.S. location)   Last Year Last Week This Week Change Soybean Oil 26.93 27.76 29.64 +1.88 Cotton Oil (psby) 26.70 37.26 39.14 +1.88 Corn Oil 30.00 29.00 29.00 NC