Kuckuk Sunflowers are a must see!

Waushara County has a wonderful, quaint sunflower farm located not far from Wautoma, run by Susie Kuckuk. She also has a separate Peonies farm, which, unfortunately, I missed seeing this year. However, I was not going to miss a field of Sunflowers reflecting the early fall sunshine. Susie has the farm open for visitors for only a few days as the pollinators are near finishing their job, and the black oil seeds begin to form.
Did you know that what looks like a single sunflower is actually a cluster of thousands of tiny flowers (florets) arranged in spirals? The outer yellow petals are just decorative! The spirals in the sunflower’s head follow the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern that optimizes seed arrangement for maximum space and sunlight efficiency. Young sunflowers follow the sun, a behavior called heliotropism, but once the stems mature, they face east only to attract more pollinators.
Susie purchased this original dairy farm that was built in 1848 for the Frater family, many of whom are buried not far away. This location is also known as the Dopp Township. In 2021, encouraged by one of her daughter’s wedding arrangements, Susie spotted the property when it first came on the market, but another bidder had beaten her to it. Several weeks later, driving by in a snowstorm, she spotted the for-sale sign had gone back up. She wasted no time in getting her bid turned in; thus, the farm became hers.
The silo on this property also has historical significance as it was built from the same bricks used in the Hefron Church back in 1905, when a new building was required due to a fire. The English-style red barn has a wonderful rising slope to the wagon doors with milking stanchions seen in the basement.
The windmill on the property came from an estate sale in Saxeville. That was an adventure, Susie said, as Wautoma Rental helped us move it in one piece all the way here. It was an event for sure, going through Wild Rose. The old 1961 truck on the grounds was built the same year Susie was born. It took over a year to persuade the owner to part with it, making it a cute spot for pictures along with the red couches.

The abandoned home on the property is no longer livable, but a carefully boxed and protected set of sunflower dishes was found that now decorate one of the outbuilding walls. “It was meant to be, we just had to make this into a sunflower farm,” Susie said.
Did you know that if a sunflower is damaged, it can regenerate and produce a clone shoot, meaning it can continue growing despite injury? Sunflowers can release chemical signals through their roots to communicate with neighboring plants, warning them of threats like insects or diseases.
Since the Kuckuk family had not raised sunflowers before, Susie enlisted the help of Jed Wall from Nuseed in selecting the proper type and planting for this area. Sunflowers must be rotated every year, which works out well between the two 15- and 8-acre plots. She estimates that she is raising 88,000 sunflowers per year! “The first year, we did not harvest the seed heads, and boy did the wildlife show up and decimate it all before the first snow. Sopa Farms in Amherst now makes oil from our seeds, or we bag some of it for bird seed.”
Did you know that while the classic yellow is well known, there are rare varieties of sunflowers that bloom in deep reds, oranges, and even shades of purple, like the Chianti and Moulin Rouge sunflowers. The Tallest Sunflower Ever Recorded Was Over 30 Feet Tall. The Guinness World Record for the tallest sunflower is 9.17 meters (30 feet 1 inch), grown by Hans-Peter Schiffer in Germany. Not all sunflowers are tall! Some breeds, like the Teddy Bear Sunflower, stay small and fluffy, resembling a golden pom-pom rather than a traditional sunflower.
Susie said her family all pitches in to run the two flower farms’ open houses. I met her daughter, Mary, who is also a wedding photographer. The farm tries to have the sunflowers be in full bloom just before the Waushara County Fair; this year, it was perfect timing.
Did you know that sunflowers have been used to remove toxins, including radioactive elements, from the soil? After the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters, sunflowers were planted to absorb harmful radiation through a process called phytoremediation.
Susie ended our visit as more guests were arriving with this note: my great-great-grandfather used to run the Waushara Argus when it was in Pine River through the move to Wautoma. “We love this county, all its rich history and fantastic neighbors.”
The sunflower field is closed for the year, but you can look forward to seeing the peonies next year. You can find more information about the Kuckuk Peony and Sunflower Farm visitation days on their Facebook page.