A Spokane company pays farmers up to $50 per acre for access to Russian thistles while they're blooming, usually from mid-July into August.

Hollister-Stier, which manufactures allergenic extracts, pays farmers in Eastern Washington to vacuum pollen from their Russian thistles, according to Wheat Life, the monthly publication of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

Hollister-Stier uses the pollen to create serums for allergy sufferers.

Hollister-Stier call be contacted at 509-892-1188.

-- East Oregonian