Dry Bay perfect for sunflowers | Rural

Grower  Stuart Train found answers in Kansas when wondering what to grow on problem Pakipaki paddocks.

"I was looking for a crop that would grow in low fertility conditions and with no irrigation where it was dry," he said. "Sunflowers have been grown successfully in Australia so they appealed to us. The ground they grow in there is too poor for maize."

Most growing advice he gleaned off the internet.

"In America, the universities are very good at dissipating information to farmers in the area. If you want to grow a new crop they generate a lot of information, They publish papers every year. All that information is around so long as you know where to look for it. Certain states grow sunflowers - Kansas State University has quite a big agriculture service. The information is there, you just have to translate it into the New Zealand environment."

He is growing two varieties and sourced buyers himself, after "a bit of ringing around".

"One is a grey-striped seed and that will be sold locally for bird seed, for pet parrots and the like. The other one is a straight black seed, which will go up to the crushers in Tauraunga to extract oil out of it."

He said harvesting would not be a problem as most combine harvesters had factory settings for the crop.

"You just push a few buttons on the computer and away you go. When the harvester is finished, the seed comes out of the hopper. It is fairly clean at that stage."

He also grows maize, onions, tomatoes, squash and grass seed on his 120 hectares.

He said his problem paddocks had low fertility after grazing horses for a number of years.

"Because of the way the horse gut works, a lot of what they crap out is only half-processed and only decays over time."

He said sunflowers were not new to Hawke's Bay. "If you talk to some of the old farmers they can remember sunflowers being grown here in the 70s and 80s. My understanding is a lot went into the confectionary market and health shops."

He said the crop's low water requirement was good experience for the future, as water becomes more difficult to access. His land is a mix of pumice and peat that dries quickly.

"The challenge is going to be using less water and remaining profitable. Water is a limited resource so you have to look around for ways of utilising the water you've got better."

This year's high rainfall has not tested the crop's reputation of doing well in dry conditions. He said it was too early to say if he would replant them. "We'll wait and see how much money drops out the bottom but we are keen to try again just to see if we can do things better."