Manitoba sunflower growers are knocking on wood as they appraise what could be an above average crop this year.
With the current bright prospects, at least on the production side of things, grower Jim Leslie is among those wishing he could have squeezed more sunflower acres into his crop rotations.
However, with the sunflower harvest still two months away, he acknowledged that disease, insects and foul weather might yet take some of the lustre off what is shaping up to be a decent crop.
“They’re blooming nicely right now,” said Leslie, a grower at Poplar Point, Man., describing the progress of his crop. “I just wish we could have more of them.”
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Manitoba grows about 90 percent of Western Canada’s sunflower crop. While the exact number of acres seeded to sunflowers in Manitoba is not yet known, provincial oilseeds specialist Rob Park estimates that 250,000 acres were planted, a slight increase over last year.
The bulk of the crop is for confectionery seed, with an estimated 50,000 acres planted to oilseed varieties, which can be crushed for their oils or sold into the bird feed market.
“The sunflower crop in general is very good,” said Park. “In the central to eastern side of the province, the crop is looking fantastic.”
Insects have not been a large problem this year. Neither has sclerotinia, a disease that can steal yields.
Drought this summer in areas such as southwestern Manitoba has posed some risk, but Park said sunflower plants are able to send their roots deep into the ground to tap moisture, giving them some degree of tolerance to dry conditions.
“For the most part, growers in those areas have been telling us the crop is hanging on and doing OK.”
Sunflower rust has been found in some fields. While he has not discovered it at his own farm, Leslie said the disease has appe ared to the south of him in the Elm Creek area.
Rust can quickly devastate a sunflower crop, driving down the seed yield and oil content. The disease likes warm, moist conditions.
“If it’s in fields this early, I would figure there’s going to be more there,” Leslie said.
Park said the province’s sunflower crop is about a week ahead of normal in terms of maturity. That helps alleviate the risk that an early frost will hit before the seeds on the sunflower heads fill properly.
Prices for the confectionery seeds are strong, Park said. A large drop in acres planted in the United States is thought to be one of the factors supporting good prices.
Meanwhile, the price for oilseed sunflowers is normal to slightly below normal, said Park. The prices are influenced by the world market in vegetable oils, which includes canola and soybeans.
Leslie increased his acres of oilseed sunflowers this year. However, he is growing a variety that produces a specialty oil for cooking. It was planted under contract with an American company, and may deliver him some price premiums.
