According to the September U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency crop acreage report, area planted to sunflower in 2023 totals 1,314,256 acres down 22% from last year. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service is using a similar planted acreage estimate of 1,347,000 acres. According to Farm Service Agency, planted area of oil-type varieties is 1,160,825 acres with acreage of non-oil varieties, at 153,431 acres. NASS has pegged planted area of oil-type varieties at 1,183,000 million acres and non-oil varieties, at 164,000 acres. Wet spring planting conditions resulted in 29,343 prevent plant acres in 2023 with North Dakota accounting for 16,288 acres of the total.
2023 U.S. sunflower production is still undetermined and will not be known until harvest gets rolling and some yield results are reported. In October, USDA will provide its first estimate for oil and non-oil sunflower production. On Sept. 30, USDA will report old crop sunflower stocks. These USDA reports will give producers and industry a better picture of sunflower fundamentals heading into the 2023-24 marketing year.
The weather forecast for the next two weeks is predicting above normal temperatures in the sunflower growing region, which bodes well for crop dry down. Getting the crop harvested several weeks early can result in lower drying costs, plus reduces late season crop and blackbird damage.
