Louisiana’s grain sorghum acreage has dwindled in the past few years to a tiny fraction of what was grown just a decade ago — a shift driven by a shrinking market and problems with an insect called the sugarcane aphid. Still, LSU AgCenter experts said at a Nov. 7 meeting, grain sorghum, which also is known as milo, deserves a fresh look. It is an ideal crop to rotate with cotton and soybeans, they said, and good management practices can result in higher yields and less insect damage. The meeting was at the AgCenter office in Avoyelles Parish, where more than half of Louisiana’s 5,000 acres of grain sorghum were grown in 2018. In the mid-2000s, acreage was about 250,000. “The sugarcane aphid ran a lot of our farmers out of production, along with price,” said AgCenter entomologist Sebe Brown. “What this insect can do is shocking.” Severe aphid damage essentially sterilizes sorghum grain heads, and the insects leave behind a sticky … [Read more...] about Louisiana farmers encouraged to take fresh look at grain sorghum
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ICMC Director Elected to Grains Council Board
Home HomeNewsEducationHealthTechManufacturing & LogisticsLife SciencesAg INnovationINPower INnovatorsBigWigs & New GigsVideoPurchase Gerry DickGerry's ViewSpeaking Engagement RequestSubscribeNewslettersPODCASTAppRSSOn-AirTV & Radio Listings ContactAbout IIBMeet the TeamContact UsIntern with IIBFlagship Stations ICMC Director Elected to Grains Council Board Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2018 9:31 PM EDTUpdated: Thursday, August 23, 2018 9:31 PM EDTBy Tara Twigg, TV [email protected] Miller Indiana Corn Marketing Council Board member Josh Miller has been elected to the board of directors of the U.S. Grains Council. A membership-driven organization of corn, sorghum, barley producers and agribusinesses, USGC supports free and fair global trade. USGC is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but has a full-time presence in 13 key markets around the world and operates programs in more than 50 countries. He will serve until July 2019.Miller is the … [Read more...] about ICMC Director Elected to Grains Council Board
Over sorghum salad, U.S. farmers and Chinese buyers chew on trade
By Michael Hirtzer and Tom PolansekCHICAGO (Reuters) - Chinese importers of the livestock feed sorghum feasted on tabbouleh salad and chipotle tortillas made with the U.S. grain at a Texas barbecue this week, as farmers try to woo buyers in the middle of an escalating U.S.-China trade war.Despite the overtures to the world's top sorghum buyer, no deals were struck over the meal, held at the home of the head of the Texas Sorghum Producers. The normally brisk sorghum trade between the two countries has ground to a halt as tensions mount between Washington and Beijing. Chinese buyers, who normally buy 90 percent of their sorghum imports from the United States, stopped purchasing due to concerns a tariff would be imposed and drive up the cost of shipments. On July 6, that fear became reality when Beijing included sorghum in a list of U.S. exports to face levies in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. In rural Texas, the executive director of the producer group, Wayne Cleveland, … [Read more...] about Over sorghum salad, U.S. farmers and Chinese buyers chew on trade
Trade spats ‘new norm’ for sorghum growers, nail biter for Texas manufacturers
By Lynn Brezosky Published 6:24 pm CDT, Friday, July 6, 2018 window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: JERRY LARA / San Antonio Express-News Image 1of/5 CaptionClose Image 1 of 5 Loading docks are seen in the foreground of the Cheniere Liquid Natural Gas plant under construction in Portland, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. Stage one of the project broke ground on June 2015 and is scheduled to be in service in late 2018. The complete project will have a cost of over $20 billion. less Loading docks are seen in the foreground of the Cheniere Liquid Natural Gas plant under construction in Portland, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. Stage one of the project broke ground on June 2015 and is ... more … [Read more...] about Trade spats ‘new norm’ for sorghum growers, nail biter for Texas manufacturers
Pruitt talks WOTUS, E15 and sorghum oil
In the last couple weeks, it's been hard to not read EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's name in national news headlines. However, for farmers, agribusinesses and ag organizations in the Midwest, there are more pressing topics at hand than scandals relating to the use of taxpayer money — and those pressing topics include the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule and biofuel mandates. On June 14, in a recent stop on his tour of the Heartland at Nebraska Farm Bureau headquarters in Lincoln, Pruitt visited with a roundtable discussion with state officials and members of Common Sense Nebraska — a coalition of ag organizations and other stakeholders united in opposition to the WOTUS rule. For members of the coalition, Pruitt delivered some welcome news that on June 15, EPA would send a proposed "Step 2" rule to redefine "Waters of the U.S." to the Office of Management and Budget for interagency review. While Pruitt didn't provide specifics regarding what the proposed redefinition would … [Read more...] about Pruitt talks WOTUS, E15 and sorghum oil