Dakotas Sunflower Harvest Well Ahead of Last Year’s pace

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota and North Dakota sunflower growers are well ahead of last year's harvest pace, with the percentages coming in right around the five-year average.

The National Sunflower Association says that 34 percent of the crop is harvested in South Dakota, well ahead of last year's pace of 11 percent and just ahead of the five-year average of 32 percent.

In North Dakota, 31 percent of the crop is harvested, well ahead of last year's pace of 10 percent and just ahead of the five-year average of 26 percent.

Seventy-eight percent of the South Dakota crop is reported in good to excellent condition. That number drops to 72 percent in North Dakota.

The association says that a hard freeze in the region last week should aid harvest progress.

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