American Bee Journal • October 2019 Vol. 159 No. 10 • The Sunflower State Is Abuzz: Tourists flock to fields of flowers

As the summer starts to wane in Kansas, fields of sunflowers begin to bloom. While the largest agricultural fields are in western Kansas, there are pockets of smaller fields throughout the state. Many farmers have opened their farms to tourists eager to photograph the sunflowers against the beautiful Kansas skies. They attract hundreds of onlookers who come eager to experience its vastness and to be immersed in a field of flowers. Sunflower venues have become the new “pumpkin patches” providing food and activities for all who come to visit.

One such venue is the Sunflower Festival in Scranton, Kansas, which is 25 miles south of Topeka. The fields are on a 5th generation farm owned by Doug and Lara Shoup. Doug earned his degree in Agronomy at Kansas State University and then went on to work for the university as their Southeast Region agronomy specialist, and farmed in his spare time. Recently retired from his job, he now has more time to farm acres of wheat, soybeans, corn, and sunflowers.

The Shoup family recently purchased a neighboring homestead and, with the help of neighbors Meagan and Derek Wise, began renovations on the old structure, transforming it into “Eleanor’s.” For the last four years, Doug has planted approximately 70 acres of sunflowers as a double crop following his wheat harvest. Doug said, “I wanted sunflowers as part of my crop rotation and I love them. I also found the perfect header for my combine at a farm sale, so I was all set.”

Perhaps Doug and other farmers are doing much more for our bees than just providing a valuable food source heading into winter. Perhaps they may help provide a greater stage and a window into the fascinating world of our honey bees and other pollinators. These sunflower fields get the public out to brush shoulders with our lovely pollinators and it’s a great time for education.

The Shoups’ sunflower field utilizes the pollination services of honey bees provided by Bruce and Susan Lane of Topeka. Susan says, “We met Doug and Lara through my daughter who lives a half mile down the road from the Shoup farm. It seemed like a perfect match; Doug needed pollinators to help pollinate his sunflowers and Bruce liked the idea of an added honey crop late in the season. The added nectar and pollen that the sunflowers provide would help prepare our bees for winter.” These additional nectar sources are also vital to other pollinators, especially to the Monarchs as they start their migration south.

Bruce, a retired electrical training instructor at a nuclear power plant, had taken up the hobby of beekeeping a few years prior and was eager to help. Bruce typically loads some of his hives onto a trailer and positions them around the sunflower fields a few weeks before the main attraction to give the bees time to orient themselves.

Bees are critical to the pollination of sunflowers. Not only is this accomplished by honey bees, but by solitary bees and bumble bees, as well. The sunflower head is actually many flowers within a flower. In the bloom center are many smaller flowers. The bees transfer pollen as they travel from flower to flower. A good yield can bring 1,500 lbs./acre.1 Sunflowers need adequate moisture for germination but once emerging, they’re very drought tolerant and can withstand most any conditions a Kansas summer can throw at them. Their heads will follow the sun but once they begin to bloom, they will face an easterly direction, making for great photos at sunset.

Both oil and confectionary (non-oil type) sunflowers are grown for commercial use.

Kansas ranked 5th in 2018 in sunflower production behind South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and California, but Steve Swaffar, Executive Director of Kansas Sunflower, stated, “That number is misleading because it doesn’t necessarily reflect double-crop production.”2 This is when sunflowers are sown after the harvest of another crop on the same acreage. Steve went on to say that there’s a lot of double-cropping in areas south of Salina and in the McPherson area. “The biggest fields in Kansas are in the northwest; in Sherman and Thomas Counties,” he says. It stands to reason why the state’s two sunflower processing plants are located here in the towns of Goodland and Colby. 3

Nothing is more mesmerizing than to stand in a field of sunflowers against a beautiful blue Kansas sky. The hum of bees surrounds you as they buzz from flower to flower gathering nectar and pollen. Children and adults, young and old, flock to the fields to have a glimpse of this magical place and to capture the spectacle on their cameras. Side by side in a uniform manner and looking to the same easterly direction, the cheery flowers greet the masses of visitors. Children excitedly scamper down row after row while adults cautiously venture out into the sea of yellow, brown, and green. Professional photographers come too and are readily available to capture these moments for a fee. The children will play among the flowers and hide in a hay-bale maze and play in a corn pit.

I’m sure that most didn’t expect to come face to face with a honey bee, solitary bee or bumble bee, but the fields are loaded with them. The children are fearful at first, but soon realize that the pollinator pays them no mind as she’s intently focused on gathering food. Visitors come with the intent of viewing the lovely flowers but I hope they take home with them something more … a profound awareness of our pollinators and how beautiful and awesome they are.

All who come to the Shoups’ fields may partake in food and refreshments from area vendors and shop at Eleanor’s. The old homestead will serve as a general store for this event and will sell unique local items, farm fresh eggs, and sunflower honey. Lara says, “I want them to experience a simpler farm life and to enjoy the outdoors.” Eleanor’s is aptly named for Eleanor Smith, the woman who once lived there with her husband Walter. They were farmers and loved the land. Eleanor had a vegetable garden and an acre of beautiful flowers in the front yard. Travelers along Highway 75 could see the flowers as they drove past and would often stop to admire them. Eleanor claimed she had rare varieties of iris and would eagerly share with those who were interested. When Lara and Doug bought the farm, they discovered some old honey labels that Walter had made. It turns out that Walter was a beekeeper and he and his father tended bees on the property.

The Shoups plan to offer additional pollinator education materials at their sunflower event next year. Sunflowers and bees seem like the perfect match in Kansas. The wild sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) are the state’s official flower and insect, respectively. Lara would like to have an observation hive and also demonstrate honey extracting. She hopes to get some hives of her own, with the Lanes’ help, and extract some of her own sunflower honey and use Walter’s label. Walter has been gone for many years and Eleanor left us last year, at the age of 103, but I know they are watching this little farmstead and they are smiling.

graduated from Washburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and has worked 34 years in the healthcare industry. She’s VP of Honey Plants with Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association and is a member of the Kansas Honey Producers Association. She’s a sideline beekeeper managing 30+ colonies. She enjoys gardening, photography, and spending time with area beekeepers.