The U.S. sorghum industry is on the upswing, and supporters of the U.S. Sorghum Checkoff -- the future of which is being determined in nationwide voting -- are optimistic that even better days are ahead.
"We've done a lot of great things for sorghum, especially increasing research for sorghum. And a lot of exciting things are coming," says David Fremark, a St. Lawrence, S.D., sorghum grower and a director of the U.S. Sorghum Checkoff, the Lubbock, Texas-based organization that collects and administers checkoff dollars.
The checkoff was created seven years ago to increase the profitability of U.S. sorghum growers, advance sorghum into the ethanol market and develop foreign markets for it.
Those goals are being met, but more work remains, which the checkoff, if approved, will help fund, checkoff supporters say.
The program generates about $7 million annually at current prices and production, USDA estimates. The assessment for grain sorghum is 0.6 percent of the net market price per bushel. For forage sorghum the assessment is 0.35 percent of the net market price per bushel.
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Research funding for sorghum has increased about 10 times since the checkoff was approved, Fremark says.
New research, much of which is proprietary and can't be discussed publicly yet, will further improve yields and quality, he says.
"I think sorghum growers will be really pleased. I think there will be some monumental leaps in yields," he says.
On the rebound
Though rare in most of the Upper Midwest, sorghum is relatively popular in parts of South Dakota. The state is on the northern end of the U.S. Sorghum Belt, which stretches to southern Texas.
U.S. farmers grow sorghum, often referred to as milo in South Dakota, primarily for livestock. But it's also used in ethanol plants and gluten-free sorghum is attracting more people with celiac disease.
Pet food is another growing market for sorghum, Fremark says.
Even so, rising corn acreage had been reducing the amount of sorghum grown in South Dakota, Fremark says.
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Now, however, soaring Chinese sorghum imports -- China taxes sorghum at a much lower rate than corn -- is boosting sorghum prices and encouraging more farmers to plant it this spring, Fremark says.
The checkoff further boosts sorghum's momentum, he says.
How it works
The Sorghum Promotion, Research, and Information Order, which authorized the checkoff, requires that a referendum be conducted no later than seven years after the start of assessments, which began July 1, 2008.
USDA this winter finalized its procedures for the referendum, which began March 23 and continues through April 21 at county Farm Service Agency offices. Ballots can be obtained in person, by mail or fax at county FSA offices or online.
Anyone who produced or imported sorghum from Jan. 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2014, is eligible to participate. Documentation, such as a sales receipt, is required.
For the checkoff to continue, it must be approved by a majority of referendum voters.
Information: sorghumcheckoff.com, www.ams.usda.gov , or your local FSA office.
