Sunflower
volume of seed. Cost-effective transport requires that enough sunflower be grown locally
to fill a rail car or barge. Trucking oilseed sunflower to an out-of-state processor usually
is too costly for an individual producer.
Fortunately, a substantial in-state sunflower market exists for birdseed mixes. Missouri
birdseed manufacturers consumed an estimated 10,000 tons of sunflower in 1991, most of
it from out of state. Two major birdseed processors are The Grainery (Mexico, Mo., 573-
581-3980) and Pennington Seed (Greenfield, Mo., 800-492-4175). (Keller's, in Quincy,
Ill., also has purchased large volumes of sunflower seed for packaging.)
These processors usually prefer oilseed varieties over the striped seed varieties, since
striped seed sells for a premium. Producers are encouraged to obtain a contract with a
birdseed processor or other market outlet before planting a sunflower crop.
How to grow sunflower
annaabi.ee 
