No matter the weather, Saturday, Aug. 5. 2023, is gong to be a bright, sunshiny day in North Dakota.

The National Day Calendar has recognized Aug. 5 as National Sunflower Day. National Sunflower Day will be celebrated the first Saturday in August to highlight the sunflowers that grow in fields across North Dakota in August.

North Dakota Tourism

and and the

National Sunflower Association

collaborated on the recognition, which highlights the happiness sunflowers bring people and the prominent place that the crop has in the agricultural industry.

“The National Sunflower Association often receives calls from people all over the world wanting to know where to find blooming sunflower fields,” said John Sandbakken, National Sunflower Association executive director.

The project with the North Dakota Department of Tourism

gives the NSA an opportunity to provide people with information about the crop.

The National Sunflower Association received the Amplifier award for marketing excellence for the project in 2023.

North Dakota Tourism has launched the state’s

2023 Blooms Guide,

which details the location of more than a dozen sunflower fields across the state, so people can take pictures of the sunflowers on National Sunflower Day or after that, when the

crop is in full bloom

.

Weekly bloom updates will highlight the progress of the sunflowers, which will give sunflower enthusiasts an opportunity to take photos when the plants are in peak bloom.

Select fields will have packets of sunflower seeds in mailboxes placed in the fields. North Dakota Tourism has mailboxes available for farmers who want to put them in their fields.

Sunflower growers who want to be involved in the project can share the locations of their fields with North Dakota Tourism, which will text farmers to get information about when their fields are blooming. After the fields begin blooming, the department will contact the farmers for weekly updates on bloom percentages, which it will post at

https://www.ndtourism.com/best-places/let-amazing-sunflower-put-smile-your-face

.

“For National Sunflower Association, this is a great way to increase consumer awareness of sunflower products, which will, hopefully, lead to demand for sunflower products, and thus more acres to fulfill demand,” Sandbakken said.

Farmers in North Dakota, the top sunflower producer in the United States, planted a total of 625,000 acres of sunflowers in 2023, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department June 30 planting report.

North Dakota Tourism has these tips for people who are interested in taking sunflower pictures:

• Visitors are welcome to stop by fields included in the Sunflower Blooms Guide if they are respectful and don’t enter or drive into the fields.
• Scout the field location early to capture a “golden hour” image — just after or just before sunset. Visitors should set up their camera equipment early so they can take advantage of the golden hues.
• Cloudy days sometimes are the best time to capture close-ups and more subtle variations, such as shadows.
• Tag photos and videos on social media using #BeNDLegendary to celebrate sunflower blooms.

Ann is a journalism veteran with nearly 40 years of reporting and editing experiences on a variety of topics including agriculture and business. Story ideas or questions can be sent to Ann by email at: abailey@agweek.com or phone at: 218-779-8093.