Sunflowers are expected to win back acreage this year in the United States, thanks to the downturn in corn and soybean prices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its Prospective Plantings report this morning. The report says North Dakota farmers will likely plant 790,000 acres of sunflowers this spring, up dramatically from 520,000 acres in 2014.
The USDA pegged national sunflower acres at 1.485 million, an increase of more than 300,000 acres from 2014.
Darcelle Graham, National Sunflower Association of Canada executive director, wasn’t surprised by the acreage forecast because corn and soybeans aren’t quite as lucrative right now.
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“Guys are looking alternative crops … that can pay good dollars. And the price of sunflowers hasn’t changed.”
Black oil sunflowers have been selling for around 19 cents a pound in North Dakota, from January till the end of March.
Graham said Manitoba sunflower acreage is expected to rise slightly compared to 2014, when farmers planted approximately 87,000 acres.
“We’re anticipating for 2015 that we’ll be over that 100,000 mark.”
The USDA is projecting that soybean acres will drop or level off in North Dakota for the first time in many years. The department said North Dakotans will seed 5.8 million acres of beans, compared to 5.9 million in 2014.
Canola acres in North Dakota are pegged at 1.2 million, the same as 2014.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
