{gallery}09_07_10/sunflower{/gallery}About 20 growers in the Powell area are raising confectionary sunflowers destined for overseas markets. Harvest is expected in a few weeks. Tribune photo by Carla Wensky Bright yellow sunflowers thriving in Powell area fields will soon become snacks destined for overseas markets.Bill Sullivan, a production manager with Dahlgren Seed in Crookston, Minn., said last week that a mid-season check of sunflowers showed them on track to be harvested in a few weeks.

Sunflowers mature about 110 to 120 days after they're planted, Sullivan said. The plants growing in this area will likely mature in closer to 110 days, he said.

“Anytime after that, growers have the option to desiccate,” he said, using herbicides like Roundup or Sharpen to kill the plants to get ready to harvest the sunflower seeds. “But, normally, what we do is wait for Mother Nature.”

That means waiting for a killing frost, after which growers look for moisture levels of 13-14 percent before they harvest the heads of the flowers. Some growers can store them in buildings and dry with circulated air, Sullivan said, and some let them dry in the field.

“We like to have them delivered at 10 percent” moisture, he said. The Powell-area sunflowers seeds likely will be delivered to a central location and shipped by truck to Dahlgren processing facilities, he said, although final details have not been worked out completely.

Sunflower fields in this area were sprayed with herbicide, many by aircraft applicators, a few weeks ago to eliminate insects that commonly attack sunflowers. Sullivan said it's better to wipe out any potential threats early in the seed development, since these seeds are destined for human snacks. In fact, the varieties grown here will likely go overseas. They have a longer seed and are favored among customers in overseas countries who eat them one by one instead of grabbing a handful as is common here.

“These are longer than you buy in the store,” Sullivan said. But they will have the same “womb to tomb” oversight the company prides itself on, from field checks to factory processing, “to be able to control the food chain the whole way through.”

The sunflower seeds go into snack bags and are delivered to stores, all under company supervision. That control from start to finish helps them guarantee high quality, he said, starting with stopping any problems as early as possible.

“Because this is an edible crop, we like to try to eliminate insects that could put holes in the seed and actually affect the quality of the seed,” he said. Someone who gets one bad seed may never buy this brand again, he points out, so quality is on the line with every package of Dahlgren snacks.

“You want to make sure that the quality is good,” he said, which hasn't been a problem because “the growers out there are very keen to problems.”

He noted many Powell area growers have experience growing and harvesting certified seed crops, such as dry beans.

Sullivan manages hybrid seed production for Dahlgren. Part of his assignment is developing new production areas, and after 30 years of work in this field he said working with the approximately 20 people who are growing sunflower seeds in the Powell area has been a good experience because they are so conscientious. Company officials met with growers a few weeks ago for a mid-summer check, and he plans to be back in Powell soon to see how things are going, he said. The company is counting on a good harvest here because Minnesota and the Dakotas “have some moisture concerns” that could affect the harvest there — but growing conditions here have been good so far, he said.