Producing sunflower seeds involves the basic process of growing and harvesting the plants

The sunflower plant originated in western North America. It is thought to have been domesticated around 1000 B.C. by Native Americans. Spanish explorers brought the sunflower to Europe in 1510. However, it was not until the late 1800s when the flower was introduced to Russia that the sunflower became a food crop. In 1860, Russian farmers made significant improvements in the way that the sunflower was cultivated. During this time, they became the world's largest producer of sunflower seeds. Today, they remain a world leader along with Europe, Argentina, and the United States. Production in the United States has emphasized oil producing varieties, but snack food producing sunflowers have steadily increased.

Sunflowers are technically classified as Helianthus annuus. They are a large plant and are grown throughout the world because of their relatively short growing season. In the United States, some varieties reach maturity from 90-100 days after planting. Domesticated sunflowers typically have a single stalk topped by a large flower. This is significantly different from the smaller, multiply branched wild sunflower. Sunflowers have large yellow, ray flower petals on the outer edge that do not produce seeds. The sunflower head is composed of 1,000-2,000 tiny little flowers joined together at the base. These flowers are disk-shaped and can be brown, yellow or purple. During the growing season, the individual flowers are each pollinated. Seed development then begins moving from the outer rim of the flower toward the center. It generally takes 30 days after the last flower is pollinated for the plant to mature.

The sunflower plants reach various heights, but most are from 5-7 ft (1.52-2.1 m) tall. The width of the flower heads is relatively large, typically between 3-6 in (7.62-15.24 cm), although some can reach more than a foot. An exception is the dwarf varieties that are only 3-4 ft (0.91-1.22 m) high and have smaller flower heads. A common characteristic of sunflowers is a tendency for their flowering heads to follow the movement of the sun during the day. This phenomenon, called heliotropism, has the benefit of reducing bird damage and disease development.

Most sunflower plants grown in the United States are used for the oil production. The plants have been bred over time and have steadily improved in quality and consistency. Many options are now available including dwarf varieties and high oil types. Certain hybrids have higher yields and a reduced oil content. The modern sunflower crop is self pollinating so insect vectors are not necessary. Other traits of the crops that have been controlled are disease resistance, speed of maturity, and seed size.

Producing sunflower seeds involves the basic process of growing and harvesting the plants, separating the seeds, roasting them and then packaging.