Sunflowers, wheat potential stars for ’05 growing season

Word has it that farmers are the most optimistic people you will ever meet.

Some would say this optimism also tends to make them the most foolish people.

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Optimism about the 2005 growing season is high, although growers are still feeling the sting of continued drought conditions. Subsoil moisture is lower than normal and moisture is going to be needed at critical growing points to compensate.

Increased input prices for oil and fertilizer along with lower-than-average crop prices are forcing some farmers to re-evaluate what crops they grow.

“We are estimating a 40 percent increase in acres grown (of sunflowers) and primarily these acres are in northeastern Colorado,´ said Ron Meyer, an agronomist for Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. “Sunflowers take 25 percent less water than corn, which is an issue for surface water growers and is an issue for groundwater producers … When you don’t have the water you used to have you learn to adapt.”

Mayer said farmers were also enticed to grow sunflowers by historically high prices for producers, and many locked in their prices last fall.

Sunflowers are grown and processed for their oil, which is used in cooking and in snack foods. The oil is currently being studied to see how effective it would be in biodiesel.

“(Rocky Mountain Biodiesel Industries in Berthoud) is currently using sorghum, but they are studying how well (sunflower oil) will work,” Meyer said.

Another crop farmers are leaning towards are dry beans, which also require less water than corn.

“Farmers are reluctant to plant too much corn because of the cost of production,´ said Marc Arnusch, vice president of the Colorado Corn Growers Association and a producer in Keenesburg. “The amount of fertilizer required weighs heavily with farmers along with fuel costs. It just costs more to raise the acres.”

The United States Department of Agriculture estimates this year’s corn crop is 7 percent lower than last year’s and that the price per bushel is up to 50 cents less than last year.

Arnusch has planted 450 acres of his 1,600 acres with corn, but he also grows sugar beets, onions and sunflowers.

“The onions are slower than I would like,” he said. “They are freshly emerged but they are behind the calendar. The beets are looking good, but I was nervous; because of that cool spell I was worried the beets were frozen. Instead, the moisture from the storms helped insulate them.”

Dryland winter wheat farmers are resting on pins and needles with this year’s crop. The USDA estimates Colorado will produce 85.8 million bushels of wheat this year – an 80 percent increase from last year’s crop.

Darrell Hanavan, executive director of the Colorado Wheat Growers Association, advises people to take that statistic with a grain of salt.

“Last year we had 45.9 million bushels, our second-lowest year since 1969,” he said. “The estimate is only 8 percent above the 10-year average of 75.5 million bushels.”

Hanavan warns the crop may not perform as expected because of depleted or lacking subsoil moisture.

“The crop isn’t in the bin and it will require timely moisture or above-average moisture, or this crop could fizzle really fast,” he said.

Farmers have planted 2.6 million acres of winter wheat, an increase of 350,000 – up 13.5 percent – from 2004. Hanavan said Colorado is a wheat surplus state because wheat isn’t used for cattle feed, and the state’s low precipitation encourages farmers to plant wheat. Wheat requires less moisture than other crops to thrive.

“Only 5 percent of the wheat crop is grown using irrigation – the rest is dependent on rain and snow,” he said.

In Adams County, Robert Sakata, president of Sakata Farms Inc. in Brighton, is hoping for one inch of light rain per week.

 “The big snow storm a couple of weeks ago was a great blessing and if we continue to get frequent rains this spring we will be looking at a bountiful harvest,” he said.

On his 3,000 acres Sakata grows broccoli, cabbage, five varieties of sweet corn and three varieties of onions. He irrigates with South Platte River water and said he needs the water to flow heavily to produce his usual 1,500 semi truck loads of produce.

“Farmers are always optimistic with their predictions, and I am praying for sunshine, one inch of rain a week and no hail.”

Kim Lock is the agribusiness reporter for the Northern Colorado Business Report. To suggest a column feature contact her at (970) 221-5400 ext. 222 or by e-mail at klock@ncbr.com.