How A Minnesota Farmer’s Experiment With Sunflowers Led To A Thriving Microwave Popcorn Brand

From CBS Minnesota:

By John Lauritsen

August 9, 2020

PEIRZ, Minnesota (WCCO) — Our neighbors to the west, the Dakotas, are known for their colorful sunflower crops. But the flowers have been popping up in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, too.

For a farmer in Pierz, in rural northwestern Minnesota, the plants started as a good protein source for livestock before turning into a popcorn source for consumers.

Tom Smude, the owner of Smude Enterprises, never thought he’d become a sunflower farmer. He initially planted the flowers to save money on feed costs for his cows, but he was impressed by the flowers’ root structure and how it helped his soil.

Read more at CBS Minnesota