Colo. - Last month, Colorado sunflower growers passed a referendum to establish a market order for their industry with 57 percent of the vote. The passage of this vote will have a significant impact for the sunflower industry, said Helen Davis, marketing specialist for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The market order will raise funds for both promotion and research for Colorado sunflower production.
Market orders assess a fee, which is used to collectively fund programs to benefit the industry.
The maximum assessment for sunflowers is 3 cents per hundredweight of seed produced. With the passage of the referendum, Don Ament, commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, will appoint a board to oversee the specific allocation of the funds. Sunflower acreage in the state has nearly doubled during the past five years, reaching more than 300,000 acres of production. Sunflowers are primarily grown in eastern Colorado and used for high quality oil and for the confectionery market. In Colorado, other commodities with marketing orders are apples, corn for grain, dry edible beans, milk, potatoes, sweet corn and wheat.