United Sorghum Checkoff Program

The United Sorghum Checkoff Program, or USCP has a strategic goal of increasing the use of sorghum in the ethanol industry by 50% by 2011.

The Sorghum Checkoff Program is a US organization that collects funds, sometimes called checkoff dollars, from producers of sorghum and then uses those funds to promote and do research on the commodity. Checkoff programs attempt to improve the market position of the commodity by expanding markets, increasing demand and developing new uses and markets.

The United States Department of Agriculture or USDA is responsible for overseeing the formation of checkoff organizations uder the authority of the Commodity, Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996?.

Declining sorghum acres and production over the past years led to decreased private investment in sorghum. These declines brought about a “technology gap” between sorghum and other crops. The USCP is responsible for overcoming this gap with a national Sorghum Checkoff. The USCP has as a stated goal of working to improve the profitability of the sorghum industry through research, promotion and information.

Only slight increases in demand could mean half of the Kansas sorghum crop could be used to produce ethanol in 2010. It also means more than a third of Texas’s sorghum crop will likely be used for ethanol production. Because slightly less sorghum is expected to be harvested in 2009 because of crop losses in some areas, ethanol plants are securing their sorghum supplies early for 2010 production.

More information about sorghum can also be found here:
* Grain sorghum
* Sorghum - United States
* Sweet Sorghum - North Carolina
* YaJin Sweet Sorghum