The USDA Risk Management Agency has approved two additions to crop insurance for sunflower in 2020.

Coverage will be available for loss due to sclerotinia bodies and dark roast in varieties bred specifically for medium seed size for hulling, such as conoil varieties. The change will provide coverage discounts charged by processing plants.

Also, Master Yields will now be available in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Sunflowers are grown in a longer rotation and have multiple types (oil vs. confection sunflower), which can lead to a very slow process to populate a grower’s Actual Production History (APH) data set.

Master Yields will give producers the option of obtaining more effective crop insurance protection for sunflower. Master Yields will not be available to North Dakota producers as they currently have the option of using Personal Transitional Yields to populate their APH.

Torno re-elected

Mark Torno was re-elected to the National Sunflower Association’s board of directors as a representative of the hybrid seed industry. He is Croplan’s sunflower, wheat and canola marketing manager. Torno grew up on his family’s farm near Bottineau, N.D., and is a graduate of North Dakota State University, Fargo. He has worked for Winfield since 1997.

Source: National Sunflower Association, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.