Sorghum Research

The United Sorghum Checkoff Program has rolled up its sleeves and gone to work for sorghum growers. USCP began collecting checkoff dollars in July 2008 and is already using them to fund research for boosting producer profits and making sorghum a healthier industry.

Sorghum Nutritional Information

Sorghum offers many health benefits including its gluten-free characteristics, high antioxidants and high polyphenolics. These papers offer more insight into sorghum’s nutritional profile.

Myths about sorghum
United States Standards for Sorghum

Regional Production Guides

A wealth of proper management practices, already proven in test plots and fields, could bring higher yields and more net profit if used by farmers. The Checkoff has contracted with scientists to compile this information into easy-to-use Production Guides for 10 specific growing regions.

Making the Most of Fertility

Kansas State University scientists are working to better understand how to most efficiently use nitrogen in sorghum.

New Herbicide Options

Kansas State University scientists are developing best management practices for new over-top herbicides that you can put to work in you field, while Texas AgriLife is evaluating other new herbicides that have the potential to effectively fight weeds in sorghum.

Cold Tolerance

USCP is funding research by USDA-ARS (United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service), universities and private industry that will help you plant earlier, into cooler soils, and take advantage of longer season hybrids. These agencies and companies will use screening methods and genomic tools to move cold tolerance into useful hybrid combinations.

Forage Sorghums for Better Ethanol Production

Forage sorghums are already known to be high quality, high tonnage biomass feedstocks for renewable fuels. Texas A&M University and the National Renewable Energy Lab at Golden, Colorado are working to provide basic, critical information to make them even more ideal.

Better Standability

USDA-ARS and private industry are exploring new and novel genes for use in sorghums in the U.S. By bringing new germplasm to producers’ fields, scientists plan to increase average yields and also build resistance to disease, insects and other pests. These researchers are working to convert tropical sorghums, whose flowering isn’t controlled by daylength, into varieties that are daylength-sensitive and can grow well in the United States.