Sunflower harvest progress slowed by late October snow

The 2023 sunflower harvest in the upper Midwest was slowed by a late October snowstorm, but it is progressing. Meanwhile, USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) released its harvest prices for 2023 revenue insurance policies for sunflowers.

"The harvest price has fallen to where a yield loss or a combination of yield and price could lead to a crop insurance payment this year for some producers," according to John Sandbakken, National Sunflower Association (NSA) executive director, commenting in the Nov. 6 NSA newsletter.

According to the RMA, the harvest price per pound for oil-type sunflowers is 27.9 cents and for confection sunflowers it's 29.9 cents. This past spring, prices were 30.5 cents for oils and 32.6 cents for confections.

"It is best to check with your crop insurance agent to see if you are entitled to an indemnity check on this year's sunflower crop," Sandbakken said.

Nearby prices at the region's crush plants were unchanged the first week of November, although some listed No Quote (NQ).

As of Nov. 6 the Cargill plant in Pingree, N.D., listed a $14.80 call price for November and a $15.15 call price for December for NuSun sunflower. Pingree listed NQ (No Quote) for January. Both the ADM plant in Enderlin, N.D., and the Cargill plant in West Fargo, N.D., listed NQ for the months of November and December. West Fargo did list a price of $15.90 for delivery of NuSun sunflower in January. Enderlin listed NQ for January.

High-oleic sunflower prices at Cargill in West Fargo were listed at $16.75 per hundredweight for delivery in November, $17.10 for December delivery, and $17.15 for delivery in January. ADM in Enderlin listed high-oleic delivery prices at $16.30 for delivery in November, $17.05 for December, and $17.15 for January.

As stated above, sunflower harvest progress was slowed due to the late October snowstorm, but since then producers were able to make good headway, advancing progress by 13 percent to 55 percent complete by the end of the week ending Nov. 3. In that week, producers harvested an additional 154,450 acres, pushing 2023 harvested acres to about 660,000 acres. That said, the 2023 sunflower harvest is 6 percent behind the five-year average and 23 percent behind last year at this same time.

"Harvest progress is expected to be slow as it may take a while for fields to dry out in the Dakotas and Minnesota," Sandbakken said. "The heavy snow that fell across the Northern Plains continues to be slow to melt and is keeping temperatures low.

"The weather conditions in the Northern Plains are expected to change to a warmer-than-normal and drier-than-normal pattern later in the week. These conditions should allow the remaining harvest to move forward," he concluded.