Farming sunflowers here. Common, or new?

[Cameramonkey]

How common is sunflower farming in Indiana? I cant say Ive ever noticed it before around here. But tonight on my way home I noticed a field of them. And not an insignificant size. Looking at google earth, the plot is between 5 and 6 acres.

Is it common, or a reaction to the war in Ukraine? 25% of the world's sunflowers come from Ukraine. Which of course cant grow them under the circumstances, and if they do, cant export them because the ports are shut down by the damn Russians.

I can see our farmers capitalizing on the void. Or I may be reading too much into it because I just havent noticed them before. So which is it?

 

[hoosierdoc]

I have no idea, but i wanted to post

 

[Bookmark]

I'm not aware of any markets for sunflowers in Indiana, but I'm not in your area. Since the field is small it could be someone raising them to dove hunt in this fall?

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'm not aware of any markets for sunflowers in Indiana, but I'm not in your area. Since the field is small it could be someone raising them to dove hunt in this fall?

Seriously?

Bird seed.
Sunflower oil.
Been to a baseball game lately? (stereotype)
etc.
No dove hunting, as its not in a rural area. (its the triangular greenspace here)

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[Bookmark]

Apologies,I wasn't clear. I meant I wasn't aware of any markets to sell the raw, harvested product to. I've not seen them raised commercially in Indiana but it could be something new too, the Dakotas dominate sunflower production in the US, then the plains states. I've seen them raised to be used as a background for photography but 5 ac seems a bit much for that. Could be a food plot or someone thought they looked cool, which they do

 

[Creedmoor]

We have a few fields of sunflowers and canola growing on the south side of Alexandria west of the HS.
Indiana gennerly hasn't been a big sunflower producer for the past 30 years.

They are usually grown where beans dont do well.
One does better here with corn or beans.

 

[indyblue]

Looks like a small farmer.
Both parcels on that corner belong to the same owner.

 

[Nazgul]

We always plant some sunflowers, we enjoy the way they look. Have several rows this year in the garden.

Some times we get outrageously large ones that make people laugh. Have a volunteer plant that came up by our mailbox this year that is easily 9' tall. Have had a lot of comments on it.

Don

 

[CHCRandy]

We always plant some sunflowers, we enjoy the way they look. Have several rows this year in the garden.

Some times we get outrageously large ones that make people laugh. Have a volunteer plant that came up by our mailbox this year that is easily 9' tall. Have had a lot of comments on it.

Don

Yeah, I always plant sunflowers as well. My tallest one this year is only about 11 feet. My daughter loved sunflowers and my grand daughter loves planting them with me. This year we got a "special" one that had like 2 or 3 big flowers on it, instead of the normal 1.

 

[deo62]

Quite a few fields of them around here. Started a few years ago and just kind of spread from there

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I don’t remember seeing them up here but I have seen a field or two of them near my home town in Tennessee. They are neat to see.

 

[dvd1955]

There were several fields south of Peru a few years ago. I think all the same owner. The last few years those same fields have been pumpkins instead. 40 acre field of blooming sunflowers is a beautiful sight.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I see big fields in Huntington County for the last decade.

 

[Leo]

I like sunflower seeds as a snack. My wife grew about 20 plants, There is a lot to processing the seeds, and making them taste like the ones that come in jars. They were fun to see in the garden. Now that area is growing peppers and cucumbers, We went back back to buying sunflower seeds in jars.
I do remember seeing a few fields of Sunflowers when motorcycling through the country in Indiana. The ones in the jar have to come from somewhere.

 

[WanderingSol07]

I drove by a field of them last night southwest of Lafayette. Didn't think much about it as I recall seeing fields of them around the area every year.

 

[snapping turtle]

South of the old mount comfort airstrip has been a field for a few years.

Millet seed is another I see west of Indianapolis some. Doves galore in those fields

 

[schmart]

How common is sunflower farming in Indiana? I cant say Ive ever noticed it before around here. But tonight on my way home I noticed a field of them. And not an insignificant size. Looking at google earth, the plot is between 5 and 6 acres.

Is it common, or a reaction to the war in Ukraine? 25% of the world's sunflowers come from Ukraine. Which of course cant grow them under the circumstances, and if they do, cant export them because the ports are shut down by the damn Russians.

I can see our farmers capitalizing on the void. Or I may be reading too much into it because I just havent noticed them before. So which is it?

I noticed a small field of them in the Lafayette area last year. The local corn maze also has a sunflower maze so they start collecting entry fees earlier in the year before the corn is ready. I don't know if they harvest either field as the entry fees are way more profitable than the grain sales.

I grew up in KS where they have some huge fields of them. Comparing those to the ones here, I'd have to say that it must be a niche market around here as compared to the plains states.
--Rick

 

[Cameramonkey]

Looks like a small farmer.
Both parcels on that corner belong to the same owner.

View attachment 217215

View attachment 217213

The Mills family owns a LOT of farm land around this spot. In fact they keep trying to re zone it and build warehouses on it.

This is only about 60% of the land they have repeatedly tried to get rezoned . Family wants a payday so they can stop farming. There is more land to the NW that was part of the project that was denied a couple years back.

 

[hooky]

As a HS kid in the mid 80s, there were always sunflower fields around Chalmers and over around South Newton HS. There was a bird seed processor on 421 up there.

I see more and more every year. Folk's neighbor has planted about 75-100 acres every year for the last 10 years. He just rotates them into different fields and they're contract harvested. I assume he's got an agreement with someone to grow and deliver X# of bushels.

 

[KokomoDave]

Been around for years my uncle used to reserve part of his acreage for sunflowers. We always thought it was for my aunt / grandma to cheer them up but we would eat some, give to to the chickens, etc.