Most people find their vibrant colored flower and towering stalks an inspiring site. Birding enthusiasts know there's more to these flowers than meets the eye. Once the flower has faded the "less appealing" ripe brown head contains thousands of seeds which are packed with the nutrition and essentials birds and wildlife crave through the long winter months. That has made Black Oil Sunflower seed a product of choice for folks who engage in wildlife observation and feeding.
Until recently, retailers had to ship in Black Oil Sunflower seed from other states. Thanks to a unique partnership between NJ Audubon and New Jersey farmers, things are changing. NJA began a pilot program under their S.A.V.E. label which helped some NJ farmers realize the potential market for this cash crop product and the benefits to natural resource protection the S.A.V.E. birdseed program offered. The first few years met with many bumps and challenges. Weather, wildlife damage and processing issues resulted in less yield than anticipated while market demand continued to climb.In 2010 several Sussex County farmers teamed up with NJA producing the first year-Sussex County crop. Offering their farming expertise and an additional processing facility at Brodhecker Farm in Newton, things have substantially turned around for the supply side of this project.
Brodhecker Farm is a state licensed livestock feed manufacturing center in addition to being a fully operational farm raising both crop and livestock. The one hundred sixty acre farm has the equipment, storage and expertise needed to process the harvest and prepare the birdseed for market.
Earlier, Sussex Naturally shared some photos of the Brodheckers' 7 acre sunflower stand in Sparta NJ. The sight of all those bright yellow flowers was a siren call to passers by who stopped to gaze across the field and sip some of nature's beauty.
In October, Brodheckers harvested the crop and invited Sussex Naturally to go along for a ride in the big John Deere combine. We invite you to climb aboard too-click on the link to the NJ Black Oil Sunflower Harvest video or search it on Youtube Jersey Grown Black Oil Sunflower Harvest . The first year crop wasn't produced without challenge or investment. As you'll see in the video, a special combine head was needed for harvesting. The expensive piece of equipment was shared among farmers in Sussex and Warren counties. Using this head meant more seed got into the hopper. Weather and wildlife damage played a contributing role in the final yield being short of the anticipated volume. While NJ farmers are no stranger to wildlife damage to their crops-and take action to minimize loss- the sunflower field was hit especially hard by an abnormally large number of Black Bear who wiped out over a third of the field. Bears knock the sunflower stocks to the ground-not one at a time, but in significant numbers and random patches-leaving behind considerably more waste than they consume. The flattened stocks make it impossible to harvest the seed heads-still filled with seed. More than ten bears were spotted in the field post harvest-gleaning what remained of their autumn buffet.
In spite of the challenges in bringing the product to market, Jersey Grown Black Oil sunflower seed is a win for NJ conservation, agriculture and consumer. The product is produced under the Jersey Grown brand-already a brand of choice for consumers who want quality and freshness. Garden State agriculture benefits from the successful expansion of crops grown and sold in NJ and residents of NJ can feel great knowing their purchase will help support New Jersey Audubon's tireless efforts to protect and conserve the natural resources that make NJ a diverse and beautiful state.
A true Win-Win-Win!
No comments:
Post a Comment