BRANDON, Man. – Confectionary sunflowers are at the top of the profitability list for Manitoba farmers, some crop return calculators are showing.
And acreage is expected to fall 20 to 30 percent.
The wild contradiction of these expectations is explained by the fear of sclerotinia gripping many farmers in the Red River Valley.
“Definitely disease has hit hard for the last two years,” said Darcelle Graham, the executive director of the National Sunflower Association of Canada at Manitoba Ag Days.
Sclerotinia head rott was a major problem for many prairie sunflower growers, ruining quality and prices for many.
However, some farmers who have had better results and who have rotations that have limited the potential for sclerotinia to become a major problem this year will be keen sunflower growers, Graham said.
“Guys are seeing that if acres are going to be down, prices are going to have to be there, so there’s going to be some interest,” she said.
New crop prices are about 35 cents per pound for the confectionary crop, Graham said.
Grain buyer Mike Marion of Roy Legumex said new crop prices now are 35-36 cents per lb., and old crop is still getting 30 cents for round-seeded varieties and 31 cents for longs.
Old crop prices have held up, Marion said, but Argentina has produced a good, high quality crop and that is beginning to weaken the market.
“We’re feeling it in the sales,” said Mike Marion of Roy Legumex.
“They’ve got very nice quality compared to what we have in Canada or the United States.”
Marion said farmers are leery of growing the crop if they saw sclerotinia in their fields last year, or if they grew sclerotinia-prone crops last summer, so convincing farmers to grow the crop is a challenge.
“I just hope next year is better and we don’t see that head rot again.”
