Surge in visits to sunflowers off Interstate 80 leaves broken stems, unhappy growers

Along Interstate 80, in Yolo and Solano counties, this year’s midsummer bloom of sunflower fields has attracted staggering numbers of picture-seeking tourists, frustrating area growers.

Around Dixon and Davis, visitors from far and wide have descended upon fields visible from the highway, making their way down dirt roads, ignoring “No Trespassing” signs, and stepping over irrigation trenches to capture a social-media-worthy photo of the spectacle of flowers. This year, the number of trespassing tourists has spiked, area growers told The Bee, continuing an upward trend in the number of visitors to the fields since many growers first noticed them, five to seven years ago.

“Every year people take pictures, it’s not that big of a deal, but this year it kind of became a big deal,” said Bob Deetling, a Yolo County sunflower grower with fields near Davis.

Deetling said he’s noticed the upward trend and suspects this year’s dramatic hike in numbers is due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. Deetling said he has seen about 60 cars at a time stationed by his field during peak hours, and he suspects hundreds stop throughout the day.

At Cloverleaf Farms just outside of Davis, several dozen photo-seekers recently crowded on the roadside edge of a sunflower field to pose. They parked neatly behind a large digital traffic sign that flashed warnings against trespassing: “Violators will be prosecuted.” Many stayed alongside the nearest flowers; others wandered several yards in, for a seemingly more encapsulating shot.

A couple dressed in matching white pranced their way around the field; a family held up reflecting disks and danced in-place as they took photos of a young girl; an elderly photographer moved around an 8-foot portable light pole as he searched for the best angle to take the photo of his subject.

“It’s human nature to want to connect (to nature),” said Princess Umi, who stopped on her way back to Sacramento from the Bay Area to take pictures by the fields. “Having people on lockdown made people crave that connection and value it.”

“And if they’re here to connect I don’t see them wanting to hurt the flowers.” she said of the relationship between visitors and the surrounding blossom.

Scott Robben, co-owner of Robben Ranch between Davis and Dixon, said he believes the popularity of his field has also grown as news of the annual occurrence has spread due to word of mouth and the location pins on social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat. Many visitors, he has learned by inquiry or by observing license plates, make the long drive over from the Bay Area.

The wave of unwanted visitors has overwhelmed Robben, and after some time, he has come to view efforts to disperse the crowds as futile.

“My brother did try herding them out,” said Robben of the crowds that have gathered by his field. He chuckled. “They just waved him on (as if he was a passing car).”

Like other growers, Robben has grown disgruntled over the sense of inconsideration he has seen. He has noticed litter scattered throughout his field. Some, he believes, comes from picnickers he has seen set up alongside the fields. Parked cars block the entrances to roads used to move machinery around or access irrigation pipes.

Craig Gnos, a neighboring grower, expressed similar concerns. Gnos said he has tried countless times to shoo away crowds by himself, to little avail. At other times, he has contacted the Solano County Sheriff’s Office to ask them to disperse crowds of as many as 100 people.

Growers have expressed concerns regarding the property damage and liability trespassing could bring. Tourists, said Gnos, have crossed over his irrigation canal, ripped off flower stems and approached the beehives scattered throughout his fields. Beside damage to his property, Gnos said he fears someone will sue if they are injured either from the high amount of ditches or a swarm of unhappy bees.

“In the hot afternoons, (the bees) get aggravated,” said Gnos.

Other growers, like Deetling, expressed concern over tourists being unaware of the pesticides used in each of the fields they stop in for pictures. He has noticed pictures of children on social media smelling the flowers, which concerned him.

“I get it. They’re beautiful for about two weeks,” he said of his sunflower fields closest to the highway. “Luckily we didn’t spray those fields. About one-third of our sunflower fields are sprayed.”

Sunflowers throughout the region will begin to wilt as the summer continues; yet, the annual presence of the crop will likely remain prevalent in the future as Yolo County continues as the state’s largest producer, according to Carl Hjerpe, a former sunflower grower and seed supplier for more than 35 years.

Sunflower remains a cash crop in California. Farmers grow over 50,000 acres of hybrid-seed sunflower throughout the Sacramento Valley, from Vacaville all the way north to Red Bluff, boosted by the region’s Mediterranean climate, lack of disease, and ample access to irrigation.

The tradition -- and the the frustration -- appears bound to continue for many more years.