"Sorghum 101" - Crop Good for Food, Feed, Fuel

Call it sorghum or call it milo, it could be the wonder crop of the future. It produces gluten–free flour and it can be used for ethanol. So what’s keeping production from taking off?

Corn is profitable, so it can be an uphill battle to convince farmers to try something different. But some are convinced sorghum’s potential is almost limitless.

As John Dvoracek explains, the grain he holds is great in cookies, especially for those on a gluten free diet. That’s because it’s not wheat, but sorghum.

“You do not have to be celiac disease or food allergy to enjoy wholesome goodness of sorghum,” said Barbara Kliment, Executive Director of the Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board.

Research shows it may lower bad cholesterol and raise the good.

Kliment said, “If I have my way about it, I would like to see sorghum become as common on grocery store shelves as rice or dry edible beans or barley, any other grains like that.”

It’s so versatile, it can be used as livestock feed or turned into ethanol using varieties that grow more than ten feet tall.

Dvoracek said, “Brazil uses sugar cane to make ethanol from the stalks of sugar. We can have the same amount in forage sorghum here, require much less water.”