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Canadian sunflower growers poised for 'booming' year as acreage and prices climb higher – CBC.ca

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They are one of Canada’s top feel-good crops — fields of bright yellow sunflowers have been delivering smiles for road-tripping families for countless summers.

This year, the country’s sunflower business may be smiling, too.

Demand and prices for the special crop are both looking good while the number of planted sunflower hectares has grown to its highest level in years.

“It’s a time where the industry is booming,” said Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research in Winnipeg. “It’s at the upper part of the cycle right now.”

Though popular across the country, the bulk — roughly 90 per cent — of sunflowers are grown in Manitoba. This summer, the province is growing a lot more.

The amount of sunflowers planted in the province this year has climbed to about 36,400 hectares from roughly 25,500 in 2019, according to the Manitoba Crop Alliance.

“It’s a pretty big jump for us — probably the biggest acreage increase we’ve seen in a long time,” said Darcelle Graham, the alliance’s chief operating officer. 

Graham said numbers that high haven’t been seen since 2015.

“So pretty exciting from a sunflower world,” she said.

A sunflower field near Dundas, Ont., part of Hamilton. Though a popular flower across the country, commercial demand for sunflowers is on the rise. One expert says the total number of commercial sunflower acres will probably be close to 100,000 — or 40,500 hectares — believed to be the highest number in years. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Canadian growers plant both oilseed and confectionery sunflowers. For years, confectionery sunflowers — typically roasted and eaten as a snack — were the most popular.

But Graham said a lot of the growth recently has been in oilseeds. Some of those seeds end up being crushed for oil, but a high proportion find their way into birdseed.

There are any number of market factors that shape demand and price for sunflower seeds, like any commodity. A leading factor this year is a fairly tight supply of sunflowers in the United States.

People buying bird food

But an apparent rise in the popularity of birdwatching during the COVID-19 pandemic may also be providing a little bit of a lift in the market, too. 

“I actually had a buyer say to me the other day that through all of COVID, one thing people are buying more of is bird food,” Graham said.  

Ben Friesen, purchasing manager for sunflowers at Scoular Canada, which recently expanded its bird food manufacturing facility in Winkler, Man., said it’s been a good year.

Scoular’s confection sunflower business is important to the company, he said, but the bird food business “really picked up the pace” and is even stronger this year.

“With … a lot of people being at home, working from home, I think they have more time to be feeding birds and watching them,” he said.

“I think it has probably increased the production and the usage of the bird food.”

Tighter supplies in the U.S.

Across the country, LeftField’s Penner said, the total number of sunflower acres will probably be close to 100,000 — or 40,500 hectares — which he believes will be the highest number in years.

He said sunflower seed prices have also improved, with confection seed types fetching 30 to 32 cents per pound and oilseed sunflower seeds getting closer to 22 to 25 cents per pound.

“Which is, historically, a strong price,” Penner said.

He pointed to regular market dynamics for the increased acreage and demand for Canadian sunflowers, noting sunflower seed supplies in the U.S. have been tighter. 

“They had a smaller crop [the last two years], so fairly tight supply,” Penner said. “So we’ve been exporting more sunflowers into the U.S. and that was already happening pre-COVID.”

Pandemic-related factors may be providing a “nudge” to prices as well, he said.

For those in the business, what counts is that Canada’s sunflower sector might have a year that looks as good as its crops this summer.

“They really look beautiful right now,” Friesen said.

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Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

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Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

___

AP tennis:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

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SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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