Nearby prices were mixed this week up 30 cents to down 15 cents at the crush plants. New crop was down 85 cents to unchanged.
Last week USDA released the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. This month’s U.S. soybean supply and use projections for 2023-24 included higher beginning and ending stocks. Higher beginning stocks reflect reduced exports for 2022/23, down 15 million bushels to 2.0 billion based on lower-than-expected shipments in May and competition from South America.
As expected by the trade the report was not a big market mover as most supply and demand fundamentals were already factored into prices. The market’s main concern going forward will continue to be domestic weather.
Dry and warm weather allowed producers to make good planting progress in the past week. Sunflower planting continues in all states and is ahead of last year at this same time and the five-year average in Colorado, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. In Kansas, planting progress is slightly behind last year’s pace and the five-year average.
As of June 11, 923,600 acres or 71% of the expected 2023 sunflower acreage was in the ground, up from 43% from the week prior and ahead of the five-year average of 64%. Weather conditions are expected to continue to be favorable in the next two weeks and should allow for most planting to wrap up as growers across the U.S. finish sowing activities. The recent above average temperatures have left crops across the sunflower growing region needing some rain.
