Dale Kitchens has been farming Sunflowers in Slaton, Texas since the 1970’s. Tending to 1,900 acres of a plant that is adored by humans, plants, and insects all the same.
“In West Texas, there’s so much sand and grit and it’s just a breath of fresh air to see a beautiful eye popping field of sunflowers and enjoy their God given beauty,” Kitchens said.
With the dry and windy conditions of West Texas, Kitchens said the sunflower is a sturdy crop that is able to thrive in this region.
“Sunflowers can withstand 40-50 mile winds, and can stand straight and erect,” Kitchens said.
Harvesting two types of flowers, one produces seeds that are for human consumption and the other is for birds. Kitchens said the seeds are distributed locally, across the nation and even world wide.
“A lot of sunflowers last year were sent out to Italy and all over Europe,” Kitchens said.
With all of the rain over the past few days Kitchens said in Slaton they’ve really only had about two inches, which has actually helped them.
