Sunflower Output Up on Year

WASHINGTON - Oct 12/07 - SNS -- The first U.S. sunflower production forecast for 2007 is 2.89 billion pounds, up 35% from 2006 but down 28% from 2005, according to the USDA.

Area planted, at 2.08 million acres, is up 11% from the June estimate and up 6% from last year. Sunflower growers expect to harvest 1.97 million acres, up 12% from June and up 11% from the 2006 acreage. The October yield forecast, at 1,468 pounds, is 257 pounds more than last year.

As of October 1, higher yields are expected in five of the seven major sunflower-producing States, with only Minnesota and Nebraska farmers expecting lower yields compared with last year. Conditions were generally good across most of the Great Plains, as adequate topsoil moisture during the growing season contributed to improved yields.

In North Dakota, the yield is forecast at 1,462 pounds per acre, up 166 pounds from the 2006 yield. As of September 30, 79% of the sunflower crop in North Dakota was rated as good to excellent, compared with only 39% at the same time last year. By the end of September, harvest progress in Kansas and South Dakota was lagging behind last year's pace and the 5-year average, while harvest in Colorado and North Dakota was ahead of the 5-year average.

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