Where is sorghum grown in the usa

The United States is the leading exporter of sorghum. Thanks to continued purchasing by 22 countries, U. Globally, about 50 percent of sorghum is consumed by humans, but in the United States over 90 percent of the sorghum consumed is used as a component in livestock feed.

Corn is the main substitute for sorghum in livestock feed. The starch and protein in sorghum are more difficult for animals to digest than those in corn, giving corn a distinct advantage for feed usage. However, research is being conducted to develop processing methods that allow animals to digest sorghum more readily.

Processing breaks the seed coat, reduces particle size and increases surface area. Some methods of processing make the end-use value of sorghum comparable to that of corn because more starch and protein are able to be digested in sorghum.

These limitations are mainly due to two characteristics of the plant. First, phenolic acid and tannins cause flour made from sorghum to have a bitter flavor. Recently a food-grade sorghum was developed that does not contain phenolic acid or tannins, and thus, the resulting flour does not have a bitter taste.

These varieties are being used in snack food applications in the United States and Japan, and can also be used to replace wheat flour in some baked products.

The lack of gluten may be an advantage in a niche market, targeting people who are gluten intolerant. Besides feed and food applications, sorghum is used in several other products.

Archer Daniels Midland produces wallboard for the housing industry using sorghum. With so many healthy benefits packed in every delicious grain, consumers are finding creative ways to use sorghum in recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks. Plus, sorghum grain can be cooked using a stove top, slow cooker, oven or rice cooker to add a new twist to favorite recipes. As a result, sorghum now can be found in more than product lines in the U. Visit SimplySorghum.

A significant amount of U. Sorghum farmers had another strong year in , harvesting an average of Farmers planted 5. Of the 21 sorghum-producing states, the top five in were:. Over the years, sorghum has been either exported, used in animal feed domestically or utilized in industrial and food uses.

The origin and early domestication of sorghum took place in northeast Africa, and the earliest known record of sorghum comes from an archaeological dig at Nabta Playa, near the Egyptian-Sudanese border and had been dated at 8, B. It spread throughout Africa and along the way adapted to a wide range of environments from the highlands of Ethiopia to the semi-arid Sahel. The development and spread of five different races of sorghum can, in many cases, be attributed to the movement of various tribal groups in Africa.

Sorghum then spread to India and China and eventually worked its way into Australia. The first known record of sorghum in the United States comes from Ben Franklin in , who wrote about its application in producing brooms. The inherent tolerance of sorghum to marginal lands and environmental conditions, its versatility as a food and feed grain, and its ability to produce high yields ensure its important role in the lives of millions of people throughout the world.

About Sorghum Discover More About Sorghum Many people who are not in the agriculture industry have never heard of sorghum or are unsure as to what it is. Sorghum Facts What is Sorghum? Sorghum Uses In the United States, South America and Australia, grain sorghum has traditionally been used for livestock feed and in a growing number of ethanol plants. Colorado sorghum farmers cultivated , acres of land in , compared to , acres in , and were forecasted to produce 40 bushels per acre.

In , , acres of sorghum were planted, which is predicted to yield Additionally, the crops are expected to have an average production of 50 bushels per acre. Sorghum is the third-largest cereal grain produced in the US, and the crop's popularity is due to its resistance to fungi and mycotoxins. There has also been significant fluctuation in the total land area under cultivation from one year to the next.

Between and , the acreage under sorghum ranged between 3. A grain sorghum crop field before the upcoming harvest in Chesterfield, New Jersey.