DEER PARK, Wash. — The sunflower fields in Deer Park have long attracted Spokane-area residents looking for a great photo opportunity. But farmers say people trespassing on their fields is leading to huge problems.
Dusty and Erin Walsh have been farming 600 acres of sunflower fields for three years. They are one of our main sunflower field farmers in Deer Park.
Every year, all of the farmers deal with people ignoring no trespassing signs at their fields and destroying sunflowers.
“Even if they’re really careful. Even if they go out into the field and they don’t stomp on anything, they don’t trample anything, they don’t pick any sunflowers, it still makes our landlords really angry," Erin Walsh said.
Now, some spend hours patrolling the fields and asking people to leave their property. That doesn't always go well.
“Yesterday we had somebody screaming names at us… calling us all kinds of swear words," Erin Walsh said.
For these families, these are more than just fields. They are their homes and their livelihood.
“If we lose this ground as an option to farm, its income straight out of our potential for next year," Erin Walsh said.
Losing their ground is a possibility. Farmer Jodi Lentz lost 10 acres this year after one landowner had enough of the trespassing problems.
"It hurts a lot," Lentz added.
So what's the solution? Farmers want people to understand the sunflowers an actual crop and there are other u-pick locations in Spokane where they are grown specifically for people to enjoy.