Production

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are cultivated in the United States for cooking oil, confectionary and birdseed. They are primarily grown in North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Colorado.

The 2011 sunflower crop totaled nearly 2.04 billion pounds and was valued at nearly $603.62 million; both production and value declined from 2010. Average yield continued to drop, falling to 1,398 pounds per acre.  August 2012 ...  Sunflowers


Marketing

• Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA.
• National Sunflower Association - This nonprofit commodity organization for sunflower growers conducts promotion activities, supports production research and disseminates production and marketing information.
• Oil Crops Outlook, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2012.
• Oil Crops Yearbook, ERS, USDA - Examines supply, use, prices and trade for oil crops, including supply and demand prospects in major importing and exporting countries.
• Sunflower Marketing in the High Plains, Kansas State University Research and Extension, 1997 - This publication addresses basic issues related to sunflower marketing in the High Plains, including Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska. Information is presented about deliverable sunflower grade and quality specifications and the types of sunflower marketing alternatives available to central Great Plains producers. Sunflower market information sources and the development of sunflower marketing plans are also discussed.
• Sunflowerseed and Products World Supply and Distribution, FAS, USDA.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Drying and Storing Sunflowers, Kansas State University, 1987.
• Sumseeds - This South Dakota-based company is taking seeds grown in North Dakota and Kansas and adding caffeine, taurine, lysine and ginseng to them.

Production

• Confectionary Sunflower Cost-return Budget, Kansas State University Research and Extension, 2007.
• Crop Production Annual Summary, National Ag Statistical Service (NASS), USDA, 2012.
• Crop Values Annual Summary, NASS, USDA, 2012.
• High Plains Sunflower Production Handbook, Kansas State University Research and Extension, 1999 - Agronomic practices, disease control and management, pest identification, harvesting and marketing of sunflower crops.
• Oil-type Sunflower Cost-return Budget, Kansas State University Research and Extension, 2007.
• Sample Costs to Produce Sunflowers for Seed, University of California Cooperative Extension, 2011.
• Sunflower, Alberta Agriculture and Food, Canada, 2007.
• Sunflower, Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute, Columbia, Missouri.
• Sunflower, Interactive European Network for Industrial Crops and their Applications, 2003.
• Sunflower, The New American Farmer, SARE, NIFA, USDA - Describes two sunflower-growing operations in the United States.
• Sunflower, The National Non-Food Crops Centre, York, United Kingdom.
• Sunflower: A Native Oilseed with Growing Markets, Jefferson Institute, revised 2002.
• Sunflower Production, Chapter 10: Alternative Crops, Ohio Agronomy Guide, 14th Edition, Ohio State University Extension, 2005.
• Sunflower Production and Management, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Management.
• The Sunflower Production Guide, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, revised 2006.
• Sunflowers, Floridata, updated 2004.
• Sunflowers-Growing sunshine, Colorado State University Extension, updated 2007.

Links checked August 2012.