Fields of Cheer Paint the County Yellow S
unflowers are one of life’s little pleasures. The bright, cheery flowers evoke feelings of warmth and nostalgia, whether spotted at the farmers’ market or in a gorgeous centerpiece. When you visit a massive field with rows and rows of them on display, however, sunflowers become one of life’s pleasures. If you’ve never visited Wilder Family Sunflower’s field in Snook TX, put it on your late spring/early summer bucket list! Located near Snook in Burleson County, the farm is now something of a local tourist attraction with visitors stopping by daily to see and photograph the thousands of sunflowers that can grow to 8-10 feet high. Every year around Memorial Day weekend, fields of yellow begin to attract the attention of passersby. Jay Wilder and family have a sunflower field near Snook that is literally growing in popularity. The Wilder Family Farm has been in operation since 1912 and a few years ago, Jay Wilder, decided to put a new addition to the 2,500-acre farm and its cotton, sorghum and soybean crops. He planted about 300 acres of sunflowers and the results have been profitable – and certainly colorful. Although pretty to look at, Wilder, along with his sons Jayce and Spencer and his father Joe, harvest the huge sunflowers to make birdseed. He has contracted with the H-E-B grocery store chain to sell the seed through its Hill Country Fare line. “I thought we would give it a try a few years ago,” said Wilder, whose family also runs a cow-calf operation. “Commodity prices were down. Raising sunflowers seemed like a good idea and it’s
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BCC MAGAZINE 2021/22
