New Use For Safflower

The bird feeding industry has seen big price increases in sunflowers with the growing demand for sunflower oil competing with sunflowers for birds seed. Could a similar issue be ahead for the blackbird resistant safflower too?

According to a story from Canada TV, safflower may be used as a source of insulin. Some Canadian scientists are looking to the plant to make a cheaper form of the drug used to help those with diabetes.

You can read the full story here. If this is successful it will be great for the millions who suffer diabetes but it will be interesting to see how it affects this seed's price.

Sunflower Grower Insurance

From the Associated Press:

The federal government is expanding an insurance program for sunflower farmers — two years after almost killing it — in a move that could help protect growers against fluctuating prices and low crop yields.

The protection could be especially important this year as sunflower seed prices continue to fall, and some farmers contemplate planting fewer flowers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects an 18 percent decrease in the number of sunflower acres planted nationwide.

A small sunflower crop could mean higher prices at the grocery store for cooking oil, snacks and other items made with sunflower seeds.

The program, which guarantees farmers a minimum price for their crop, could encourage some farmers to plant more sunflowers, said John Sandbakken, international marketing director for the Bismarck-based National Sunflower Association.

Sunflower seed prices, like those for other crops, have dropped during the recession. Farmers have lobbied for years to get protection from low prices as well as low yields. This year, the federal Risk Management Agency is expanding a program known as "revenue assurance" to most areas where sunflowers are grown in significant quantities.

U.S. farmers grew about 2.4 million acres of sunflowers worth just under $670 million last year, most in North Dakota, the nation's largest sunflower producer.

While traditional crop insurance protects farmers from production problems, revenue assurance policies also provide coverage for price drops, although profits still vary with production costs.

Revenue assurance allows farmers to lock in the springtime market price and pay extra on their premium to have the option of taking the harvest price if it's higher. If the harvest price is lower, they still get the spring price.

You can read the full article here.

Oregon Bird Feeding Tax Stalled

The Oregon measure HB3303 that would have established a 10% excise tax on mixed wild bird feed products at the wholesale level, has stopped further action on the bill for the 2009 legislative session.

Key support for the measure was lost and at best, even bird lovers were divided. Proponents were concerned about creating opposition that would cripple future actions and may reach out to bird industry leaders and other key players to discuss actions for the 2011 legislative session.

Salmonella In Wild Birds Unlimited Mixes

In an update about the Wild Birds Unlimited bird seed recall, here is the latest from Steve Troxler, the Commissioner for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services:

"Test results of bird food from Wild Birds Unlimited, the retail source of the seed in question, indicated that Wild Birds Unlimited Wildlife Blend bird food with the specific manufacturing date code of 81132200 2916 08124 was positive for Salmonella. Also, Wild Birds Unlimited Woodpecker blend sold in 5-pound bags at a North Carolina store was positive for Salmonella. The bird seed Salmonella strain isolated during testing is different from the strain that is implicated in the current peanut product recall. These test results also indicated that the strain of Salmonella in the bird seed is different from the strain found in dead wild birds that have been examined by the NCDA&CS Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to date."

It is good news for WBU that the particular strain in their bird seed is not the same strain found in the dead birds. However, in the statement from Troxler, it goes on to say that even though this is not the same strain that can affect wild birds, this strain does have the potential to infect people and other animals and that was the main reason for the recall.

You can read the full statement here.

Oregon Birdseed Levy

This just in from editor, Mitch Whitten:

Oregon would levy a 10 percent tax on backyard birdseed to help fund a state conservation fund if a new bill becomes law.

The tax would be applied to wholesale prices and could begin as early as January 1, 2010, according to the text of House Bill 3303. Defining the target of the tax, the law states that “‘birdseed’ means any mix of seeds designed to be fed to wild birds, including millet, milo, sunflower and thistle seeds.”

Funds raised by the tax on birdseed would support the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Conservation Strategy, “a blueprint and action plan for the long-term conservation of Oregon’s native fish and wildlife and their habitats through a non-regulatory, statewide approach to conservation,” according to the department’s website.

“[The Strategy] was developed by ODFW with the help of a diverse coalition of Oregonians including scientists, conservation groups, landowners, extension services, anglers, hunters, and representatives from agriculture, forestry and rangelands,” the website says.

One of the tax bill’s chief sponsors is State Representative Chris Garrett, a democrat elected last year from Lake Oswego, an affluent community south of Portland. According to his website, he has also proposed bills to “address algae outbreaks in Oregon rivers, and develop new mechanisms for ecosystem protection.”

The proposed Oregon birdseed tax is reminiscent of a similar episode from the late 1990s. Then, wild bird feeding industry leaders were concerned about the possibility of a national tax on birdseed.

A coalition of nature products leaders, including Swarovski, Commercial Packaging and Perky Pet, helped to avoid such a tax by forming the Migratory Bird Conservancy, a non-profit designed to raise funds to purchase and protect birding habitat. The MBC became defunct several years ago, however, for lack of support.

Bird Seed Prices

Here's an interesting article from the Associated Press regarding the rising cost of wild bird feed in recent months. Here's an interesting excerpt regarding the reason behind the rise in nyjer prices:

"Two factors tightened the supply and drove prices up, said Gordy Kribs, senior trader who specializes in birdseed imports for North Pacific Ag Products in Portland, Ore.

Some 30 to 50 percent of the Indian nyjer crop was wiped out by rainstorms in January. In turn, Ethiopian contractors, seeing an opportunity to capitalize, withheld shipments of their nyjer in hopes to securing higher prices, Kribs said.

Nyjer, known to attract colorful finches, has typically traded at 50 to 60 cents a pound on the wholesale market. It is now trading above $1 a pound, Kribs said. Retail prices, meanwhile, jumped from about $60 per 50-pound bag in December to the current $80 level.

India has begun shipping some of its surviving crop, and Kribs said he expects prices to moderate in the next month or so."

Read the full article here.

Bird Seed Recall In Southern US

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Food and Drug Protection Division issued a statement that Burkmann Feeds is voluntarily recalling a seed blend that they make for Wild Birds Unlimited called Wildlife Blend, due to concerns over deaths of wild birds due to salmonella.

The bags carry the manufacturing date code of 81132200291608124. The bird food is sold exclusively at Wild Birds Unlimited.

An investigation was initiated after salmonellosis was found in dead wild birds throughout North Carolina. The department is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine the source of contamination. Burkmann Feeds is based in Kentucky.

Officials advise consumers to throw out the bird food, avoid touching unsealed bags and wash their hands thoroughly if they do touch unsealed bags.

You can read more about this story here.

UPDATE: Wild Birds Unlimited has issued a press release concerning the recall:

Initial tests have established no correlation between any bird deaths and the recalled food; a different strain of Salmonella was found in deceased birds in North Carolina than what was detected in the recalled food.

“Wild Birds Unlimited is committed to keeping everyone safe and informed about issues that may affect the hobby of bird feeding,” said Jim Carpenter, founder and president of Wild Birds Unlimited. “People’s safety and the health of wildlife are our primary concern.”

You can read the full press release here.

Forbes Reports Trade Issues Over Nyjer

From Forbes Magazine:

A shortage of the popular nyjer (NIGH-jur) seed is forcing backyard bird feeders to pay about $80 for a 50-pound bag, about $20 more than the retail price in December.

The owner of the Wild Bird Habitat stores in Lincoln and Omaha says the shortage is blamed on a trade issue between India and Ethiopia, the two countries that produce most of the nyjer.

Dave Titterington said India traditionally sets the price for nyjer seed and Ethiopia sells it for a little less. But a 30 percent crop loss in India reduced supplies, and Ethiopia increased its prices as a result.

Many are finding that their Nyjer seed is going down faster than ever as large flocks of pine siskins visit feeders all over the US including Texas and Florida. Many northern states are also experiencing huge flocks of common redpolls descending on feeders as well. Normally, these are welcome visitors, but with the cost of seed, many who feed birds are finding it hard to keep up with the demand at the feeders.

Scott's Recalls Wild Bird Food

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. is keeping an eye out for birds and bird-lovers.

The Marysville-based lawn and garden giant’s Scotts Co. LLC subsidiary this week launched a voluntary recall of five varieties of suet wild bird food products over concerns that they might contain peanut meal bought from Lynchburg, Va.-based Peanut Corp. of America’s Blakely, Ga., plant. Peanut Corp.’s products have become the center of a federal probe into a salmonella outbreak that has involved scores of illnesses and several deaths, including two in Ohio.

Peanut Corp. originally only recalled peanut butter and paste but recently expanded efforts to include all peanut products made in Blakely since Jan. 1, 2007, Scotts said. The company said salmonella not only can affect animals but can pose a risk to humans who handle products tainted with it. No illnesses have been reported and products from the Blakely facility are no longer being used, Scotts said.

Read the full press release and get the list of recalled foods here.

Corn Prices Are Set To Come Down

From Minnesota Public Radio:

The collapse of VeraSun Energy is costing hundreds of Minnesota farmers millions of dollars. The Sioux Falls ethanol company filed for bankruptcy three weeks ago after losing almost $500 million since last summer. Now the company said it will terminate many of the corn contracts it signed with farmers. That's taking revenue away from farms as falling corn prices hurt their ability to make up for lost income.

VeraSun built two ethanol plants in southern Minnesota, but the bankruptcy made it impossible for the company to open the faculties near Janesville and Welcome.

Neither has produced a gallon of ethanol. But, in the months before bankruptcy, the company laid the groundwork to start the plants. VeraSun contracted with nearby farmers to buy millions of bushels of corn.

Now, it's refusing to pay on many of those contracts. Richard Guse said he has a half dozen VeraSun corn contracts. He said if the company breaks them he stands to lose a lot of money.

"I'm going to say my potential loss is two hundred to three hundred thousand dollars," Guse said.

Guse said under the contracts VeraSun agreed to pay him anywhere from about $5.00 per bushel to almost $8.00 a bushel. Since he signed the deals, corn prices have fallen sharply, to just over $3.00 a bushel."

Read or listen to the full article here.

Weed Seeds In Bird Seed Mixes

Be prepared for customers to ask questions about weeds in bird seed.

As mentioned earlier in the blog, the Weed Science Society of America released information that many noxious weed seeds can be found in bird seed mixes--seeds not intended to be ingredients in those mixes.

News organizations and sites are picking up on the story:

The Post-Bulletin
The Christian Science Monitor
The Akron Beakon Journal
The Leader-Telegram

The story is gaining legs and customers will be asking if your bird seed is treated to be non-germination. Be sure to ask you seed distributors what they know about the story, how their seed is treated, do they know if any of their mixes were used in the study. The WSSA is offering tips for preventing weed seeds from growing:

Use a tray attachment under your feeder to keep seeds off the ground. (Because birds like house sparrows never kick seeds around in tray causing them to spill to the ground).

Select foods that won’t sprout, such as sunflower hearts, peanuts, peanut butter, raisins, mealworms, and plain suet cakes.

Buy only treated wild bird food mixtures. Many manufacturers are now baking their products to kill weed seeds, using guidelines established by the US Department of Agriculture. So read product labels carefully to make certain you select a treated brand.

Keep an eye out for weeds under your feeder and pull them before they can flower and spread.

Hey, What's In Your Seed Mixes?

According to a press release from the Weed Science Society of America, Oregon State University, scientists examined 10 brands of wild bird feed commonly sold in retail stores. The samples contained seeds from more than 50 weed species - including 10 ranked among Oregon's most noxious weeds. Each brand tested contained weed seeds, with six different weed species found in half or more of the samples.

In a short-term study of what happens when stray bird feed drops to the soil, about 30 weed species sprouted in just 28 days. Between three and 17 weed species grew from each of the 10 brands of feed tested. The ten Noxious Weeds Found in the Bird Seed Evaluated in the Oregon Study:

Buffalobur (Solanum rostratum Dunal)
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)
Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)
Dodder (Cuscuta spp.)
Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
Jointed goatgrass (Aegilops cylindrica)
Kochia (Kochia scoparia)
Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris)
Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)

When asked what ten brands were tested, Linda Edgerton of Linda Edgerton Communications, representing the Weed Seed Society of America said, "The team purposefully didn't list the brands in the test because they didn't want to single out any one manufacturer. That's because they suspect the problem is industry wide, and it seemed unfair to brand a handful of companies. I can tell you that those in the test ranged from products purchased at high-end retailers (who specialize in birding products) to large discount box stores."

When asked what percentage of bird seed mixes had weed seed, she said that researches found 539 weed seeds in one pound of a particular brand of bird seed and 1489 weed seeds another pound/brand.

Sunflower Prices Easing

From the Farm & Ranch Guide:

It was the best of times, and although it's not the worst of times, the sunflower market has seen better days than those of August and September.

Sunflower prices that were soaring earlier this year, have come back down to earth in recent weeks.

Larry Kleingartner, executive director for the National Sunflower Association, said that, according to “Oil World,” world prices of sunflower seed as well as oil and meal have come under considerable price pressure since early July.

Kleingartner stated that warm temperatures and dry conditions in most areas of the region helped the final development of this year's sunflower crop. He also added that much of the sunflower production areas in North and South Dakota and also Minnesota benefitted from a general rain early last week which helped alleviate concerns over dry conditions. However, dryness does persist over a large area of the region.

“Most areas continue to have reasonable levels of soil moisture for this time of year,” he said.

Crop conditions in the region show that 100 percent of the sunflower crop in North Dakota has bloomed, 70 percent has dried ray petals, 19 percent has bracts yellow and 2 percent has bracts brown. In South Dakota, 98 percent of the crop has bloomed, while 45 percent has dried ray petals and 13 percent has bracts yellow.

Kansas' sunflower crop is 85 percent bloomed, 29 percent dried ray petals, and 8 percent has bracts yellow.

The combined good to excellent rating category increased to 58 percent from the previous week's 56 percent rating. The biggest increase occurred in North and South Dakota, while Colorado, Kansas and Minnesota had a slight decrease in crop ratings.

Last year's combined good to excellent rating for the same period was 69 percent.

As of Aug. 31, USDA rated North Dakota's crop at 58 percent good to excellent, 34 percent fair and 8 percent poor to very poor. Minnesota's crop was rated 79 percent good to excellent, 18 percent fair and 3 percent poor to very poor. South Dakota's sunflower crop was 75 percent good to excellent, 22 percent fair and 3 percent poor to very poor.

“At some locations sunflower oil prices have fallen below those of soy oil and rape oil due to increasing selling pressure and sharply higher new crop supplies from the Black Sea region and elsewhere,” Kleingartner said.

One of the most important market factors in the U.S. continues to be Mother Nature and the weather. As a result of the late start this spring, coupled with less than ideal growing conditions this summer, most row crops are behind in development and maturity.

“At the moment there are no frost warnings anticipated in the next two weeks and this has reduced the risk premium that is normally built into oilseed prices at this time of year,” Kleingartner said. “Market forces outside normal supply and demand fundamentals for crops such as crude petroleum prices and the U.S. dollar in foreign currency exchange markets have continued to influence price direction as well.”

Sunflower Problems In Kansas

From The Pratt Tribune:

Wild sunflowers have done well this year but their crop counterpart in Pratt County has taken a hard hit from stem borers.

Unlike the state flower that grows wild just about everywhere in the county, crop sunflowers are in just a handful of fields and one farmer, Gary Watson, is getting ready to bring in a harvest that was badly stunted by stem borers.

These pests migrate from soybeans and it’s easy to see which plants have been affected. The plants have turned completely brown and are drying out fast while the healthy plants still have color in their stems. The brown plants will produce few if any seeds and substantially reduce the potential yield.

With harvest just a couple of weeks away Watson is considering not planting sunflowers in 2009. The 180 acres he has this year have not fared well and he is looking at a poor harvest.
“They’re not going to yield too good this year,” Watson said.

Some spots in the field were not hit as hard as others and will still produce a big head of sunflower seeds. The affected heads look good for a while but a lot of effected heads are blank.

Sunflowers are marketed by the hundredweight. In a good year dry land sunflowers can yield from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds per acre while irrigated land can produce from 2,500 to 3,000 pounds per hundredweight. The Tuesday market for sunflowers ranged from $21.90 to $22.60 per hundredweight while the Farm Service Agency PCP price for Tuesday was $22.09 per hundredweight.

Sunflowers provide a good bridge for double cropping and farmers don’t have to summer fallow the ground. They are planted from late April up to early July. Harvest is mid September on the early planting and the crop can go back to wheat if there is enough moisture, Watson said.

Watson plants no-till. Sunflowers have a broadleaf that makes them difficult to cultivate so the plants are sprayed to control pests, diseases and weeds. Weeds have to be sprayed pre emergence while pests are sprayed from an airplane.

One field is particularly weedy because Watson was unable to get it planted soon enough after it was sprayed.

The head moth is a common pest but has done little this year because Watson got a good kill on them. Watson has his own spraying equipment but hires out a plane for head moth.

The big problem has been stem borers that enter the stem, devour the pith and kill the plant.

Sunflowers are planted with a corn planter on 30-inch rows. They are harvested with the same row head used for soybeans or milo. A wheat header can be used with the addition of pans on the platform.

Sunflowers are susceptible to a mosaic disease and insurance companies won’t insure a field that has been planted to sunflowers two years in a row because of mosaic that takes seven to eight years to eliminate once it is established in a field.

“Sunflowers have to be rotated,” Watson said.

Two types of sunflowers are grown as crops. The oil variety that Watson grows is used for cooking oil. Sunflower oil is lower in saturated fats than other vegetable oils and is highly sought, Watson said.

The other commercial type is a confection sunflower that are used for the popular sunflower seeds that are packaged and ready to eat.

Watson has grown sunflowers off and on for 10 of the last 15 years. He takes the seeds to the Kanza Co-op for shipping to a sunflower processing plant in Goodland or the co-op will sell them to birdseed manufacturers.

Sunflower News From North Dakota

From KFYR:

Across the state, sunflowers are about a week behind their normal growing schedule.

That`s because it`s been too dry for the crop to grow well. Now, sunflowers need some warm days so they can start growing again.

And the days and weeks ahead until the end of the season are what will really determine the outcome for farmers.

"We really need to hold that frost off until that crop becomes mature, because obviously if we`d have an early frost, that would result in a lower test weight, it would cut back on the oil content, things like that. It would be pretty damaging to the crop," says John Sandbakken, of the National Sunflower Association. "We`d like to see that hold back until the crop is mature."

He says a steady, heavy rain all at once is better than a drizzle over several days, because then the water can soak into the ground without the risk of disease to the

Birdola Going For A Record!

From The Grand Rapids Press:

Birdola Products' seed cakes are meant to be hung from trees, but the one made to set a world record is a bit too heavy for that.

To mark the Northwest Side company's 20th anniversary, a 700-pound wildlife seed cake will be unveiled Wednesday at Blandford Nature Center, where birds, squirrels and other critters will do the real celebrating.

"We expect it to last three months," said Kristin Tindall, ecology education coordinator at Blandford, whose desk faces the feeding area where titmice, chickadees and woodpeckers gather with chipmunks and squirrels. "It's like a picture out of 'Snow White' here."

The privately held company's goal is to convince the Guinness World Records to recognize the 5-by-4-foot, 14-inch-thick seed cake in a new category.

Becoming the first seed cake record-holder might be fitting for the company, which says it invented bird seed cakes and now sells more than any other company nationally.

"We've grown considerably in the last 20 years," said President Frank Hoogland, who owns Birdola with Grand Rapids businessmen Dan Pfeiffer and Rich Postma.

"We continue to develop new products and pursue new markets. We hope to keep that trend continuing."

Birdola's employees, who number 30 to 35, have the capacity to manufacture up to 14,000 seed cakes a day at its Broadway Avenue NW plant. And during busy times, it does, Marketing Manager Rick Savino said.

The seeds are held together by a vitamin-laden protein binder the company developed when the founder, the late Don Metz, searched for a way to reduce mess and waste at bird feeders.

Today, truckloads of sunflower seeds come in from the Dakotas, peanuts from Georgia, millet from Colorado and nyjer seed from Pakistan, Myanmar and India.

Cherries and blueberries sometimes come from Michigan, but with prices up "tremendously" for all commodities, Savino said, the company tries to find the lowest prices at the right standards.

"Like anyone else, our margins are squeezed," he said. "Sales are a little bit soft right now."

When it comes to the choice of feeding wild birds or the dog during tough times, Birdola's "bird granola" gets left on the shelf.

But the company sees several hopeful signs.

First, more people are staying home, often gardening, and may pick up bird watching as a way to enjoy their yards. Second, the population is aging, and it is the settled-in segment that feeds birds.

Savino adds it is more important than ever to feed birds because their natural habitats are decreasing.

Meanwhile, large national chains and mom-and-pop stores are carrying Birdola's 45 products. Locally, Meijer, Family Fare and D&W Fresh Markets carry the lines, including the best-selling, 2-pound Birdola Plus Cakes that hold together even when pecked.

National chains that sell their products include Petco, PetSmart, Lowe's and Menards.

Company officials hope a world-record cake will bring a little more attention to their products.

At the very least, the birds will be happy.

"It will give all the birds a feast for the balance of the summer and well into the fall," Hoogland said.

Scotts Sues Avian Advisors

From the Philadelphia Business Journal:

The ownership of bird food isn’t mere bird seed to Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. The Marysville lawn-and-garden products manufacturer is suing Avian Advisors LLC, a Fort Worth, Texas-based bird food development business, and its president, Mario Olmos, alleging breach of contract.

Scotts filed two provisional patent applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in June for new bird foods, identifying Olmos as the inventor, according to the lawsuit, which was filed July 30 in U.S. District Court in Columbus. Scotts claims those foods, which weren’t identified, were developed for Scotts while Avian Advisors was a consultant to the company.

Scotts asked Olmos to sign assignment documents, which would transfer the right, title and interest in the products to a Scotts subsidiary. Olmos refused.

Scotts declined to comment on the suit, and Avian Advisors’ lawyer said he expects to suit to be dismissed.

According to the suit, Scotts and Avian Advisors signed a consulting agreement in August 2007 to develop bird foods. The accord stated Scotts would own the patents and intellectual property created for it by Avian Advisors.

They entered a second agreement in April, which also was for the research and development of bird food and also would give Scotts ownership of any inventions. Scotts asked that the assignment documents be signed, but the defendants, through their counsel, “have indicated that other inventions, discoveries or improvements have been developed by Avian Advisors and Olmos during the provision of services to Scotts,” according to the lawsuit.

Scotts is demanding Avian Advisors and Olmos be ordered to carry out their end of the contract and that he sign the assignment documents. The company also wants the two to turn over all inventions, discoveries or improvements, even if they’re not patented. Scotts also is seeking compensatory damages.

Wild Bird Feeding Industry Update

Are you a member of the Wild Bird Feeding Industry? If not, you may not get their E-News Updates. Highlights from the current issue include updates on the sunflower and Nyjer crop:

"The sunflower planting intentions released on March 30, 2008 by the US Department of Agriculture are up by 4-5% over last year.

Since the report was issued on March 30, soybeans (which showed an 18% increase in acres in the report) have steadily increased in price.

There is a larger than normal soybean crop in Argentina, and the Argentine government has put tariffs on ag commodity exports in order to keep enough food in their country. This has caused the Chinese to buy more from the U.S. and kept prices firm on both Sunflower and Soybeans.

Corn is also going up in order to steal acres from soybeans. With the wet weather down south, farmers are having some trouble planting their corn, so corn prices are firm as well.

To sum it up, the planting intentions report is intentions only, and there are still alot of changes going on at the farm level. Growers have not made up their minds yet, and some farmers are experiencing conditions that are either too wet to plant what they intended or too dry. It is very dry in a large part of North and South Dakota, as well as many other parts of the US.

For current market reports, visit the National Sunflower Association website.

Markets of Nyjer® are calmer but still very high priced. Supplies at origins are adequate but under pressure of internal local oil crushing and speculation. Most importers and exporters see a significant decrease in USA imports in 2008 due to the current high prices."

Also, the WBFI will be having their annual conference November 12 - 15, 2008 in San Antonio, TX.

Seed Prices

From The Prairie Star

While many commodity prices were influenced by the Prospective Plantings and Stocks reports released March 31 by the USDA, sunflower remained relatively unchanged.

The planting intentions report was termed bullish for corn, slightly bearish for wheat and soybeans, and neutral for sunflower.

The USDA's report indicated nationwide corn acreage will decrease by eight percent from 2007, while soybean plantings will jump by 18 percent and wheat acreage will see a six percent increase.

Sunflower acres in the U.S. are expected to grow by four percent from last year to 2.15 million acres - 1.85 million acres for oil varieties, up five percent; and 305,000 acres for non-oil sunflower, up fractionally from last year.

In North Dakota, acres for oil sunflower varieties is expected to grow by one percent to 410,000 acres, but non-oil plantings will shrink by 24 percent to 125,000 acres.

“Getting an increase in acres in a very competitive acreage environment is gratifying,” said Tim DeKrey, president of the National Sunflower Association.

Larry Kleingartner, executive director of the NSA, noted the soybean acreage number was larger than expected while corn was lower than expected which affected prices.

As expected, prices declined for soybeans while corn prices were stronger. Sunflower prices, as of April 3, remained unchanged from the week prior.

NuSun and linoleic sunflower prices for April delivery were still at $23.65-$23.95 for April delivery, and $24.25 for May delivery.

Scott's Bird Seed Voluntary Recall

Major manufacturer of wild bird seed and animal food products, The Scotts Company LLC announced a voluntary recall of certain varieties of Morning Song, Scotts, Country Pride and various private label branded wild bird and animal food products due to the use of unapproved pesticides.

Here is an official statement from Scott's:

Dear Fellow Bird Lover,

You might find that your favorite Scotts, Morning Song or Country Pride wild bird or wild animal food isn't available where you normally buy it.

We are in the process of replacing these products because we determined that we needed to stop applying certain insect controls. These controls were used to make sure that our bird and animal food wasn't infested with moths and other problem-causing insects.

The insect controls that we had used are EPA-approved for use on some stored grains, including grains that may be turned into human food. However, the insect controls are not EPA-approved for wild bird food or wild animal food.

We believe that the wild bird food and wild animal food did not constitute a significant health risk to wild birds, small animals or humans who handle the food.

We have discontinued use of the unapproved insect controls.

We expect that our products will be back on the shelves in time for a colorful, song-filled spring.

Please call our toll-free help line at 1-888-270-2714 if you have any questions.

Mario Olmos
Sr. Ornithologist
The Scotts Company