USA
January 13, 2014

2013 was an unusual year for sunflower producers, and that's reflected in the USDA annual sunflower production report. The report shows 2013 sunflower production totaled 2.03 billion pounds, down 27 percent from 2012 and the lowest since 1989. The U.S. average yield per acre decreased 134 pounds from last year to 1,379 pounds. Planted area, at 1.58 million acres, is 18 percent below last year and is the second lowest since 1976. Area harvested decreased 20 percent from last year, to 1.47 million acres. Weather can be blamed for much of the decrease - a wet spring kept many producers from even planting sunflower. There are some bright spots in the report: production of non-oil sunflower varieties is estimated at 386 million pounds, a slight increase from last year and area harvested was up six percent from 2012.

For more on the USDA report, including a state-by-state breakdown, visit www.sunflowernsa.com/stats/usda-reports.

Website: http://www.sunflowernsa.com

Published: January 13, 2014