Like other commodity growers, sunflower producers are deep into a busy growing season.
John Sandbakken, executive director of the National Sunflower Association, said things are looking good for this year’s crop.
“Even in the High Plains, the last few years we’ve had drought conditions, and you’ve had a lot of rain there in Kansas and Nebraska, and it’s looking great right now. Honestly, I haven’t seen the crop rated this high in a long time. People always have to be aware of insects. Obviously, we’re just a magnet for them, you know, for moths and things like that, but that’s something that people can control with a good spray.”
Sandbakken said sunflower growers got a boost when Congress passed the reconciliation bill.
“One of the things that we spent a lot of time on was when Congress was working on the big, beautiful bill. The provisions there for the farm bill have just been phenomenal for our producers. We got higher reference prices, better crop insurance coverage, and loan rates were increased, and they could add some acres to their base acres, so we worked hard on that, and we’re thankful to see all that come to fruition. Honestly, the way the Farm Bill was progressing, I mean, it was going to be difficult to get something through Congress, so it was our best vehicle, and I’m glad it worked out.”
Sandbakken shared what he thinks sunflower growers want to see when the rest of the farm bill is put together this fall.
“The thing is that our priorities were all met within that big, beautiful bill. I mean, there aren’t any other programs, other than we’re always cognizant of conservation programs. We want to make sure that they’re focused more on working land than on retiring land. But other than that, I mean, our main objectives were achieved within that reconciliation bill.”
(Story courtesy of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting/NAFB.)
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