Deanne and Phillip Crowder on their sunflower farm. Photo / Supplied / RNZ/ Deanne Crowder
Deanne and Phillip Crowder on their sunflower farm. Photo / Supplied / RNZ/ Deanne Crowder
By Sally Murphy of RNZ
An idea that emerged from a family tragedy has transformed into a blooming business for a Waikato farmer.
Deanne Crowder and her husband Phillip have been rearing calves and growing maize on their Taupiri farm for five years, but three years ago they swapped out some crops for sunflowers.
“Quite a while ago, I lost my sister Leisha in a car accident. Sunflowers were the theme at her funeral, so we ended up planting a bunch to give to my parents for Christmas.
“We did a couple of rows near the road and they looked really good, so we decided to plant a whole paddock of them,” Crowder explains.
The idea has now blossomed to become a big part of the farm’s business, with 2.7 hectares of sunflowers planted this season for pick-your-own flowers - known as the Taupiri Sunflower Farm.
“We planted about 60,000 seeds a hectare, so there’s a fair amount of flowers out there.
“We have a few varieties - we’ve got the traditional big yellow ones, which everybody loves, but we also have the rouge royale, which is a really deep, rich burgundy colour, and we have the white nites, which not many people have seen before.”
A lot of work goes into the flowers, but the main thing that leads to a successful growing season is good weather.
“Last year was a shocker. We didn’t get enough sun for the flowers to get up and running, and then by the time they were ready to go it just didn’t stop raining, so we’re hoping for a better season this year!
“We’ve never had a complete sell-out, but business has been growing.”
Phillip Crowder takes a photo with a cardboard cut-out of a kombi van. Photo / Supplied / RNZ / Deanne Crowder
“We get a lot of people who come all the way from Auckland, which is surprising, but also a lot from Hamilton,” she said.
The sight of thousands of sunflowers attracts influencers and photographers, with professional shoots already booked for later this month.
“This year we’ve added some photo crops, including a cardboard cut-out of a kombi van, which is pretty cool, and we’ve also got a sunflower maize, so when people make their way to the middle, there’s a viewing platform where they can get a good view of all the flowers.”
Crowder said they’re planning to open on December 27 and should have enough flowers in bloom to last until mid-February.
“If there’s any left, we can let the stock into the paddocks to eat them, which they love, or they get mulched back into the ground.”
