US farmers plant more sunflowers as Ukraine war curbs supply

U.S. farmers may plant twice as many additional acres with sunflowers as the government forecast, according to a trade group, with prices soaring in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The commodity used in everything from potato chips and frying food to bird feed and shampoo could see a massive supply shortfall as Ukraine’s sunflower-oil industry, the world’s largest, suffers cuts to planting and exports due to Russia’s invasion.

The squeeze already has American growers from North Dakota to Texas benefiting from the highest prices on record, fueling their motivation to sow more, according to John Sandbakken, executive director of the National Sunflower Association, a non-profit trade group based in Mandan, North Dakota. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week issued a preliminary estimate for 10% more acreage this season.

“I’m pretty confident it will be higher, more like 20%,” Sandbakken said in a phone interview.

Most sunflower grown in the U.S. is processed domestically into oil used in snack foods, alternative meats and personal care products, as well as bird feed. The remainder is grown for seeds eaten by humans, with Spain as the biggest importer, Sandbakken said.

Sandbakken said he’s fielding calls from first-time producers seeking growing tips and even garden club members saying they will plant sunflowers this spring to show symbolic support for the Ukrainian people.

Last year’s devastating drought in the northern Plains is working to farmers’ advantage because it left excess nitrogen in the ground, allowing them to buy less fertilizer than would otherwise be needed.

The cash market price for new-crop sunflowers is now almost $34 per 100 pounds, surpassing the prior all-time high of $30.50 in 2008. Old crop prices are also nearing the record reached in 2011, according to Sandbakken.