| I would agree with Luckyfarmer. I get 16" annual precip here in SWND. 3 out of 4 years I would say we are short on moisture for top sunflower yields. Maybe 1 out of 8 is too wet and hurts our yields, and we are only 60 miles from MT. If you grow SF in IL, pray for drought. Know your market as sunflowers can be sold for mid or high oleic oil, black oil or confection bird food, black oil or confection dehull, or in shell confection. There are even buyers for expeller pressed sunflower oil. A last ditch market is cattle feed. Raw sunflower are an excellent feed, but it must be limited in the ration, too much oil and it kills the rumen. Since you are organic, plant late, after you are done planting organic beans. |