Situated near Hillsboro in North Texas is a sunflower field that seems practically hypnotic. It looks like it could go on forever, which is probably why, at times, passers-by have stopped right along the highway to get a glimpse of it. Looking more like something you might see in a positive PSA or a popular Instagram image, in fact, it’s a field of beautiful sunflowers taking off like wildfire in the northern part of the state.
With the warmer temperatures that the Lone Star State experiences, this crop has been able to find a good foothold as a hardy one that Texas farmers are coming to rely on. In a five-year period, from roughly 2008 to 2013, records indicated that the number of acres of sunflowers planted in North Texas grew from just 2K to approximately 24K! Processing of the seeds takes place in parts of South Texas as well as in Kansas, and our farmers have plenty of storage space on site to ensure they’re properly kept until shipping can be done. When they bloom, these beauties are a sight for sore eyes, and truly a new type of flower power for our agricultural industry.
Video: YouTube/texasfarmbureau
Featured on the Texas Farm Bureau YouTube channel, sunflower farmer Rodney Schronk’s fields are a bright beauty in contrast even with a gorgeous blue sky! His crop has been known to cause crowds of I-35W rubberneckers to stop near Hillsboro just to gaze at them, take pictures, and sometimes walk among them. That’s fine with Schronk, however, everyone needs to be cognizant of the fact that this crop is his way of life and damaging sunflowers or helping yourself to them isn’t kosher. It’s truly a wonder to peer out over the fields of this glorious golden flower that has found a home in a part of the state that once saw its farmers struggling. The flowers will mature prior to the intense heat we’ll receive with the transition to summer, so the crop can be brought in ahead of time. As a result of farmers taking the impetus to plant sunflowers, seed-roasting facilities have also been established in Texas, which could then reciprocate economic growth in the industry. A tremendous beauty to see and a phenomenal boon for Texas farmers, the sunflower is a treasure in all senses of the word.
