In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressed extreme disappointment regarding China’s announcement of duties of almost 179 percent on U.S. sorghum imports. “The international grain market is about the freest market there is, and it is ludicrous to even mention ‘dumping,’ because China can buy product from anywhere they choose. This is clearly a […]
In New York, a simple genetic modification can triple the grain number of sorghum, which is used for food, animal feed, and biofuel. Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory figured out a genetic change boosts the plant’s yield: by lowering the level of a key hormone, generating more flowers and more seeds. Their discovery points […]
In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published their notice of proposed rulemaking for sorghum oil pathways which allows an opportunity to comment on the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuels that are produced from grain sorghum oil extracted at dry mill ethanol plants. The notice says that the “EPA’s evaluation of […]
Sweet sorghum stardom! In possibly one of the largest government grants given to anyone for research on a single feedstock, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is receiving a 5-year $16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for research on the model grass green foxtail (Setaria viridis), to speed up the development […]
In South Africa, American and Chinese investors have announced a $62.5 million 15,000ha sweet sorghum project in Limpopo that would produce both ethanol and sugar. The ongoing drought has had negative impacts on the country’s gain sorghum production but the government is trying to soothe the nerves of investors saying the drought won’t last forever. […]
Zaad, Chromatin in key pact to distribute enhanced sorghum seed in Africa In South Africa,, Chromatin and Zaad Holdings have entered into an alliance to produce and distribute planting seed for grain and forage sorghum throughout the African continent. In Africa, sorghum is used in the food and beverage industry and as animal feed. The crop […]
In California, Aemetis announced the harvesting of 12- to 15- foot tall biomass sorghum grown in Central California that was produced using proprietary Nexsteppe seed genetics. Biomass Sorghum is a feedstock for low carbon advanced biofuels. The 20 acre demonstration crop of biomass sorghum was planted, grown, and harvested by Aemetis in approximately 90 days, […]
Next-gen feedstock developer records 1000% year-on-year growth for its Palo Alto Biomass Sorghum hybrids in Brazil. Sustainable, available, reliable and affordable? Yes, as the Digest discovers. In California, NexSteppe announced that it sold more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of its Palo Alto biomass sorghums in Brazil this past growing season, compared to just over […]
In Colorado, researchers led by Agricultural Research Service recently found a new way to exploit sorghum’s potential. They found that by using certain cropping strategies, growers can produce sorghum in parts of northeastern Colorado where the growing season was previously considered too short. Meanwhile, another team of ARS scientists working in Texas has developed a […]
According to Sorghum Checkoff, domestic and international sorghum demand are reaching all-time highs. The explosion is largely attributed to China’s entrance into the sorghum market. Four months into the marketing year, exports of US grain sorghum have already surpassed last year’s total. Florentino Lopez, executive director of Sorghum Checkoff, said demand today exceeds supply, and […]
