Sunflower Acres Decline, Dropping Sharply in the Dakotas

Sunflower acres have decreased 20% this year compared to 2022 at 1.35 million acres. Harvested areas are also expected to decrease by 20% to 1.29 million acres. Oil-type sunflower acres are down 24% from last year, while non-oil varieties are estimated at 164,000, up 15% from last year. South Dakota saw the largest decline in oil-type sunflower acreage, dropping a whopping 190,000 acres compared to the previous year.

After USDA released this first report on sunflower-planted acres, prices trended higher. However, over the last five years, USDA has significantly changed the final planted and harvested acres when final crop production numbers were released at the end of the season. Soybean stocks are expected to be extremely tight given the strong demand in the bird food and oil demand sectors.

Read more on sunflower acreage here.