Jed Wall was recently re-elected to represent the hybrid seed industry on the NSA Board of Directors. Wall is currently a Field Sales Team Manager Seeds for Nufarm. Nufarm sells high oleic and NuSun oil hybrids along with conoil and confection hybrids. Prior to joining Nufarm, Jed was the Sunflower Business Development Lead for Legend Seeds. Wall has over 29 years of experience in the sunflower industry with significant knowledge on the North American sunflower business. Jed resides in Wahpeton, North Dakota and serves as a volunteer for many local organizations giving back to agricultural education.  Currently Jed serves as Treasurer for Farm Rescue, an organization dedicated to supporting farm families in need.

We are looking for research papers to be presented at the NSA Research Forum, set for January 7-8, 2026, in Fargo, ND. Presentations may be either oral or in the form of a poster. A time will be designated for authors to be with their posters and answer questions. Each oral presentation will be limited to 15-17 minutes with 2-3 minutes allowed for questions. Visit 2026 Call for Papers if you are interested in presenting a paper. You do not have to submit the actual paper or poster at this time, just the information indicated online and the author information. Submissions must be completed by December 8, 2025.

Nearby and 2026 new crop prices at the crush plants were unchanged this week. November and December prices are in the range of $21.00-$21.15 per cwt depending on the location. In the Dakotas and Minnesota, a much colder dry weather pattern has allowed for improved ground conditions and harvest progress. Crush plants are taking in seed at higher moisture levels than normally allowed to aid producers in getting their sunflowers harvested. As a result, deliveries to the crush plants have increased as producers are prioritizing sunflower harvest and delivery to take advantage of the current uptrend in nearby prices.  Sunflower prices have increased 40 to 50 cents per cwt. since mid-October. USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Harvest Prices for 2025 revenue insurance policies for sunflowers are out. The harvest price has risen to where it will take a yield loss to trigger a crop insurance payment. Harvest price per pound for oil-type sunflowers is 26.2 cents and confection sunflowers at 35.1 cents. Spring prices were 24 cents for oils and 32.2 cents for confections. It is best to check with your crop insurance agent to see if you are entitled to an indemnity check on this year’s sunflower crop. The weather conditions in the Northern Plains are expected to change to a warmer than normal with near normal precipitation pattern this week. These conditions should allow the remaining harvest to move forward.

Registration is now open for the 2026 NSA Research Forum, scheduled for January 7-8, 2026 at the Holiday Inn (3803 13th Ave. S, Fargo, ND) Visit 2026 NSA Research Forum to register for the forum at the early bird price of $150.  You’ll find hotel information there as well.

Onida, South Dakota grower, Ryan Olson says he has not started harvesting his sunflower yet. The last 3 weeks the weather has been pretty good. They finally received their first killing frost 6 days ago. He did not have much disease issues this year,  but the red seed weevil were as strong as ever, but they were able to stay in control of them. He would say that the sunflower crop in his area is average to above average.

Would you like to get a link to a digital copy of Sunflower Highlights each week in your email? It’s easy! Visit www.sunflowernsa.com/smartmail/ to sign up. You can sign up for a digital copy of our magazine, The Sunflower, there too. And for sunflower prices at various locations, visit www.sunflowernsa.com/growers/Marketing/daily-market-news/#

January 7-8, 2026 - NSA Research Forum; Holiday Inn; Fargo, ND 

June 23-25, 2026 - NSA Summer Seminar; Deadwood, SD

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