The safflower plant can capture necessary moisture better than soybean, corn, and canola crops. In the Western states, safflower is a favorite crop for rotation with field crops such as wheat, barley, and processing tomatoes. The West has the perfect climate for growing safflower due to the hot and dry summer months. In early summer, the flowering thistles at the tops of the four foot plants produce brilliant yellow, orange, and gold blossoms. By mid-summer, these thistles become dry and turn brown in color.
Combines mow the safflower fields at harvest time and separate the seeds from the plant.
The seeds go through a crushing process where safflower oil is extracted. High protein meal remains after the safflower oil is removed. The meal is used for animal feed. A Saffola Oil is higher in monounsaturates than any leading vegetable oil and lower in saturates than soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil or olive oil. Monounsaturates have been shown to help lower cholesterol levels when used as part of a cholesterol-reducing diet.