North Dakota sunflower producers Matt Swenson and Scott Tranby have been re-elected to the North Dakota Oilseed Council and the NSA Board of Directors. Swenson from Walcott, ND will serve his second three-year term, representing District 3, which includes the North Dakota counties of Dickey, LaMoure, Ransom, Richland, and Sargent. Tranby from Cooperstown, ND will serve his third three-year term representing District 2, which includes the counties of Barnes, Cass, Griggs, Steele, and Traill.

As producers gear up for planting, now is a good time to think about blackbirds and reducing the damage they could cause to this year’s sunflower crop. USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services recommends not planting sunflower in close proximity to large cattail sloughs (blackbird roosts) if at all possible. If you do plant close to cattails, consider spraying cattails with glyphosate in accordance with the label, or mowing cattails if possible. Something else to consider is developing roads or trails in larger fields (quarter or more) to allow access to the middle of fields. Birds always go to the center of the field where you can’t reach them. Trails or roads allow you many more locations and better accessibility to move blackbirds out of the field and reduce losses. Visit www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/black-birds/  for more tips to reduce blackbird damage.

The March/April 2026 issue of The Sunflower has been mailed and is also ready to read on our website at The Sunflower Magazine (sunflowernsa.com) This issue includes an update on red sunflower seed weevil research and control recommendations, look at CSU agronomist Ron Meyer’s career, having sunflower in a diversified crop rotation, a list of the NSA’s 2026 research projects and more.

Nearby and new crop prices were unchanged this week at the crush plants. Headlines continue to drive  market action across the board as the debate continues over whether the war in Iran is nearing an end or not. Traders this week will continue to monitor the Iran war while digesting USDA’s March 31 Prospective Plantings report, which is expected to show a sharp drop in corn acres from a nine-decade high of 98.8 million acres in 2025 to 95 million acres. Estimates of soybean acres are around 85 million acres with some market guesses as high as 86.1 million acres. Several market analysts forecast 2026 plantings of all U.S. wheat varieties at 44.7 million acres, which would be down from 45.3 million acres in 2025 and the lowest since 2020. Many are citing “weak profit margins” for wheat producers, noting that winter wheat acres are largely “locked in,” while spring wheat acres are expected to decline to an estimated 9.68 million acres. On the sunflower side, confection acres are expected to increase considerably from last year’s low level with oil acres increasing slightly. The March acreage report will guide the market as we head into the planting season. Prices could face pressure from expectations from bearish supply fundamentals, including a likely-record Brazil crop and outlook for a sharp increase in U.S. soybean plantings this spring.

NSA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Anyone requesting special accommodation should notify NSA within a reasonable timeframe. NSA will accommodate reasonable requests.