Following the Sunflower

The USDA reported Nebraska farmers have planted 37,000 acres of sunflowers this year, far behind North Dakota and South Dakota which had 436,000 and 571,000 acres respectively, but still enough to make Nebraska one of the top sunflower producing states in the country.

John Sandbakken, executive director of the National Sunflower Association, reports global sunflower oil trade is forecast to rise to its second-highest level on record due to strong demand from China, India, and the EU. As a result, U.S. sunflower oil exports are up 23 percent during the first seven months of the current marketing year. Canada and Mexico are the largest customers.