Responses. Six hundred and ten usable forms were returned, amounting to 7.5% of forms mailed, considerably less than the 14% usable forms returned in 1994 (4). The respondents and percent responses for each state in 1997 were : KS, 103 or 4.3%; MN, 83 or 5.9%; ND, 261 or 11.0%; and SD, 163 or 8.4% (Table 1).
Acres Planted By Respondents. Respondents in the four states planted 216,594 acres or 8% of the 2,665,000 acres planted by all growers in these states (6). KS respondents planted 24,615 acres, or 12% of the KS total sunflower acres of 230,000; MN respondents planted 22,646 acres, or 22% of the MN total of 105,000 acres; ND respondents planted 92,873 acres, or 6% of the ND total of 1,500,000 acres; SD respondents planted 76,460 acres, or 9% of the SD total of 830,000 acres (Table 2). The ND acreage represented in the survey is a significant number since only 25% of ND growers received the survey form. The percentage of total acres represented by respondents' acres was 8%, down from 12% in 1994 (4). The respondents' planted acres represented 7% of the total 2,920,000 sunflower acres planted in the United States.
Confection sunflower planted by respondents was 7% of respondents' total sunflower crop
in KS, 35% in MN, 25% in ND and 2% in SD (Tables
3 and 4). The percent of respondents'
acres planted to confection sunflower was lower in KS than in 1994, higher in MN, and
slightly higher in ND and SD (4). The percent of planted acres harvested was 98% in KS,
94% in SD, 93% in ND, and 89% in MN (Table 3).
Most irrigated sunflower was grown in KS, where 17% of KS respondents' acres were planted
(Tables 3 and 5). Irrigated acreage was very small in the
other three states. The majority of irrigated acres in KS were planted to oilseed
sunflower (Table 3), as in 1994.