Sunflower power
Pierz producer invests in new crop, sees potential in health benefits, locally grown food
PIERZ - Golden sunflower oil, pressed from the seeds, traveled along a slender tube into storage vats.
Back
The seeds - from Tom Smude's own nearby crop at his family farm near Pierz - were turned into bottled oil inside his new operation. He put in the research and considerable investment into new buildings, outside storage bins and equipment.
Smude Premium Cold Pressed Virgin Sunflower Oil is produced on Tom Smude's farm near Pierz. The light oil, rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E and low in saturated fat, provides a buttery taste and is now available in about 20 locations in the region.
Now the focus is on gaining access to markets from restaurants to food production, movie theaters to grocery and gift stores, even animal feed and bedding.
For Smude it's trying to find the right person, the right distributor, the right contact to open the door to sales on a large scale.
Once people try the locally grown natural sunflower oil, Smude said word tends to spread quickly. One of the avenues to reach people has been through farmers' markets. On a recent stop, Smude said they demonstrated the oil with popcorn. They sold 40 bottles the first day. When they came back the next week, the sales doubled. Another farmers' market saw 60 bottles sold in 3.5 hours.
Sunflower seeds grown on Tom Smude's farm are hulled and then pressed to extract the oil. The by-product is turned into a high-protein pellet for animal feed. The hulls may be used for animal bedding.
"His oil is incredible," said customer Bennie Johnston, who splits her time between a home on Big Trout Lake near Pine River and Texas. "I cannot imagine why everybody anywhere is not knocking down his door for his sunflower oil. Just in terms of flavor it replaces butter completely."
Johnston said the oil is light and buttery. She uses it to cook but prefers to cook her meal and then brush on the sunflower oil as a topping. Why waste a healthy oil by heating it, she said.
"The real reason I have it is the flavor and the health benefits too," Johnston said. "It is incredible."
Johnston also purchases her meat from Smude and said the health of the animals is readily apparent in his product. His black Angus beef goes to high-end East Coast restaurants. She became aware of Smude's sunflower oil production through her purchases at the Pure Soap Flake Co. in Pine River.
Tom Smude picked up a handful of the sunflower seeds as they made their way through the cold press process used in making his sunflower oil.
"He's a great young guy," Johnston said of Smude.
Smude Premium Cold Pressed Virgin Sunflower Oil is on the shelves in about 20 locations, including Christmas Point in Baxter and the Crow Wing Food Co-Op in Brainerd. It's on shelves in St. Cloud, Walker, Little Falls and Nisswa. Prairie Bay restaurant in Baxter is using it for a cooking oil. At Grand Casino, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is using the oil - about 15 to 20 gallons a week - for its movie theater popcorn.
Smude said the light oil gives the popcorn a buttery flavor. The oil's low saturated fat content may mean customers feel less guilty about getting a bag to go with the show. The link to the Mille Lacs Band came when Smude attended a health fair and cooks at a nearby booth were enticed to use the oil for a stir fry.
Smude, who has a passion for healthier hormone-free and locally grown food, said providing a product with a health benefit is one of the draws for producing the sunflower oil. And if timing is everything, Smude's move to sunflowers appears poised to take advantage in a consumer shift to favor buying locally grown food.
"Five years ago I don't think this would have worked," Smude said. "I think the attitude has changed a lot in the last year or so."
He's seen a significant increase in the number of people shopping at farmers' markets and said the customers now include many younger people. The new customers are putting a premium on knowing where their food comes from, Smude said.
He believes the product will sell itself, and it has bottle by bottle, but getting the word out and getting bigger companies to try it is the challenge.
The sunflower seed crop has proven to be remarkably versatile. An automated system separates the seeds from the shells and then cold-presses the seed to extract the oil. The cold-press instead of using heat is a way to keep more nutrients in the oil, which is high in antioxidants and Vitamin E and low in saturated fat. The oil is bottled by hand.
Smude is still amazed at the amount of oil that flows in a thin steady stream from the pressed seeds. The oil is filtered and then flows to nearby storage vats. The oil has found uses in homes, restaurants and even as a skin-care product for premature babies.
In extracting the oil, a by-product creates a protein rich pellet used for animal feed. Smude feeds the 32-percent protein pellets to his own black Angus herd and sells the feed. The sunflower hulls are sold as livestock bedding, particularly for poultry. There is even a market for the oil as a final finish on pet food.
The move to produce the oil, for sale by the bottle and in bulk, was born of a search for a drought resistant crop. A number of dry years piled one after the other to make raising corn and soybeans, among other crops, a challenge.
Smude knew he was taking a chance by making a change, but he saw a potential in something new. Sunflowers replaced his soybean crop. Considerable investment went into a building project to create a production center for Smude Premium Cold Pressed Virgin Sunflower Oil.
Classic Provisions in Plymouth is distributing Smude's sunflower oil in the Twin Cities. His facility is capable of producing 200 to 300 gallons per day, which translates into a couple thousand 16-ounce bottles.
Smude started building the sunflower oil production facility last fall. Support came from the Initiative Foundation, Region 5, Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Pierz and Morrison County Rural Development.
"It's going really well," Smude said. "I just wish it was a little faster. It's a good living but it would be nice to pay the bills a little faster."
Smude hopes customers ask grocery stores to stock his product. He was contacted by a company in the Twin Cities who heard about his sunflower oil and were looking for an avenue to order it. A blog on his website gives customers an opportunity to share examples of uses and recipes.
Smude said the sunflower oil offers a healthier choice and it tastes better. He's heard testimonials of people who say using the oil helped lower their cholesterol.
"Fish is unbelievable with it," Smude said. He suggests putting a little of the sunflower oil in the bottom of tin foil then put the fish in and whatever seasonings are desired and grill.
Smude's sunflower oil operation was recently featured in Ag Innovation News.
Smude who comes from a farming heritage, bought his farm in 1998. He works 160 acres at his farm and rents another 500 acres. His parents, who live up the road, have another 200 acres. Smude and his wife, Jenni, have two young children Katelyn and Mitchell. The 35-year-old's day begins at 6 a.m. with chores. He works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Evergreen Equipment in Little Falls and then works on the farm until 11 p.m. or midnight. It's a relentless schedule.
Now Smude hopes the sunflower oil production he's put so much into with a vision for what the future may be will begin to pay for itself.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.