Sunflowers are best grown in the southern half of Iowa. They provide multiple benefits including the flowers or seeds for retail or wholesale, oil pressed from seeds, mash fed to livestock and as a “trap crop” for birds that might otherwise focus their energies on a higher-value intentional crop nearby. Newer sunflower varieties are striking in size and variations in color. They are a good rotation crop because they grow fast, outcompete most weeds and serve well as a green mulch.