PLEASANT VALLEY, N.Y.—Kevin Haight is a farmer who was born and bred in the Hudson Valley, a fertile region bordering the Hudson River north of New York City. Like most small-scale farmers, he was on the hunt for an additional source of income.
At first, he thought of growing sunflowers for biodiesel. But a quick investigation of the economics made it clear to him that the idea was unfeasible. His brother, a Culinary Institute of America grad, gave him his million-dollar idea when he commented, “It is silly to burn something, when you can sell it by the ounce.”
The delicacy of the oil mixed with the nutty flavor of the sunflower seeds is like nothing I have ever tried.
