Sound Off
Sound Off: On a trip across Kansas, I noticed fields of sunflowers. Is this becoming a popular crop for farmers? How are sunflowers harvested?
In 2011, Kansas produced nearly 150 million pounds of sunflower seeds, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Kansas ranks third nationally in sunflower production, though production has dropped and continues to drop because fewer acres are being planted. Sunflowers are harvested by a combine, using a row-crop combine header attachment.
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Comments
FarneyMac 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Sunflowers in Kansas? That's crazy! What is this, some sort of Sunflower State or something?
edit: I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so negative. On the positive side, we have a new contender for dumbest Sound Off question of all time!
vertigo 9 months, 2 weeks ago
To people not from Kansas this isn't a dumb question at all.
smitty 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Na-www..it simply means that Kansan or not, they haven't driven thru the big fields of sunflowers in our state which are more prevalent in western KS. A beautiful sight, too, as the flowers follow the sun.
JJE007 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I was in a car going from Lawrence, KS to Colorado and I noticed that I could stay on concrete for the entire trip. I had to pay for this "road", of sorts, at Topeka but didn't have to pay the rest of the way across Kansas. Am I allowed to use this free concrete ribbon? If so, why did Topeka charge me? Is it because it's the home of Grampires?
snap_pop_no_crackle 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Where do those numbers go after I erase them from the chalkboard?
vertigo 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Why don't Kansans realize not everyone is from Kansas?
sleepy33 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Most people probably assume that anyone asking questions of a local newspaper are...local. A better question is why do people ask Sound Off questions that a Google search would answer instantaneously?
LarryCarl 9 months, 2 weeks ago
hmmm... some questions aren't that easy to get answered with a google search...
but now... if you google "National Agricultural Statistics Service sunflowers Kansas" guess what is at the top of the results list....
uh huh...
it's an easy search now....
sleepy33 9 months, 2 weeks ago
You know what else is an easy search? 'Kansas sunflower crop'. Run both searches and tell me which one is more effective at answering this question for a lay person.
sleepy33 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Yeah, you know what else is an easy search? 'Kansas sunflower crop'. Just as effective, and you don't have to wade through a 4 page agricultural report.
The_Big_B 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Why do my elbows just bend one way?
LarryCarl 9 months, 2 weeks ago
actually... I think this is a pretty good questions... because I'm pretty sure that Kansas, "The Sunflower State" is not named for the hybrid crop sunflowers planted for the purpose of harvesting of seeds, but rather the wild-naturally growing variety...
psycho_theclown 9 months, 2 weeks ago
What's the shelf life for the gas additive, Stabil?
What if sunflowers become the new k3 or k4?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 9 months, 2 weeks ago
In Kansas, sunflowers are classified as both the State Flower, and as a noxious weed.
Agnostick 9 months, 2 weeks ago
In a related story, a surprising new industry is taking root in Florida: fishing.
CWGOKU 9 months, 2 weeks ago
The two sunflowers left in my garden are barely alive and I pour a gallon of water on each a day.
Does the light in my fridge go off when I shut the door?
Agnostick 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Jeffrey Dahmer School of Culinary Arts. Every week, I have a couple of friends over for dinner.
riverdrifter 9 months, 2 weeks ago
H_Lecter would like this post!
avoice 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I want to thank the questioner for one of the funniest LJW threads in recent memory.
sleepy33 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Magnets, how do they work?
CWGOKU 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Why doesn't the sand stick to the Olympic beach volleyball players?
JackMcKee 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Those are called weeds, sweet cheeks.
Frankie8 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Sunflower seeds were Mulder's favorite snack. I had no idea that sunflowers were raised in such numbers in Kansas though I have saw some here and there. Also I did not know that Kansas is the sunflower state. I would have guessed wheat, but that would be based on waving the wheat at the Hawks games. Does that make me stupid? No, I was not raised in Kansas and so never learned any of this
"The Common Sunflower has a long history of association with people. Nearly 3,000 years ago it was domesticated for food production by the Native Americans. The seeds of the wild type of sunflower are only about 5 mm. long. It was only through careful selection for the largest size seeds over hundreds of years that the cultivated sunflower was produced. Lewis and Clark made mention in their journals of its usage by the plains Indians. It was brought back to the Old World by the early European explorers and widely cultivated there also. Today it is a common alternative crop in the Great Plains and elsewhere for food and oil production. Next time you munch down on some sunflower seeds, thank the many generations of Native Americans whose careful husbandry gave us this valuable food item. The wild cousins of those grown on the farm are still common, however, in fields, roadsides and disturbed ground throughout the Great Plains." http://www.50states.com/flower/kansas.htm
Kansas State Fllower by Frankie8
Wallythewalrus 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Did you read the story about that American 4x400 medley runner that ran 1/2 lap on a broken leg. He said he just kept thinking "Faith, Focus, Finish." One for the ages.
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