Randy Mason planted sunflowers for the seventh year in a row in fields located south of Pattonsburg. The field pictured is visible along Hwy. 69.
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Randy’s crop is oilseed. It is mainly used as bird feed and Randy sells it to local markets, like Orscheln’s. Another type of whole-seed sunflower is edible as a snack food. The flowering heads are quite large and track the sun’s movement. The plants grow from five to seven feet high. It has a short growing season, between 90 to 100 days. This makes it an attractive crop from an economic standpoint as Randy uses sunflowers as a double crop after wheat. Harvest requires modification to a conventional combine header. The crop will be harvested in October. [Staff Photo/TLH]