|
|
|
Good times for sorghum growersBy Jennifer M. Latzke It's a good time to be a sorghum grower. Tim Lust, chief executive officer for the National Sorghum Producers welcomed members to the NSP General Session Feb. 11. The past year saw record yields across the nation, and record prices. Ethanol and export demand for sorghum have combined to raise the basis. The National Agricultural Statistics Service came out with its 2007 sorghum crop results and all reports show that 2007 broke records. NASS reported sorghum yields of 74.2 bushels per acre, up 1.5 bushels from the previous record of 72.7 bushels per acre in 1994. And, the 2007 crop yielded 18 more bushels per acre than the 2006 crop. Across the nation, sorghum production rose by 82 percent over 2006, to nearly 505 million bushels. In 2006, production was at 277.5 million bushels. "Breaking records is exciting because it restores hope that we're making genetic improvements and it restores our faith that it can rain," Lust said. On the legislative side, the new energy bill that passed Congress didn't have as many of the tax incentives that NSP originally thought would be a part of the bill, but it did classify sorghum as an advanced biofuel crop. This classification will move the industry forward, Lust said. A separate Renewable Fuels Standard was established for advanced biofuels and grain, sweet and forage sorghum should benefit from this new market. Additionally, in the recent appropriations bill, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., was appropriated $1 million to work on sorghum biomass conversion to ethanol. The Colorado Department of Agriculture is funding similar work, too. The farm bill is also important to sorghum producers, but Lust hesitated to make any predictions. "I could be wrong in 24 hours," he said. This time the political atmosphere is different than the last time around, he added. The Sorghum Belt congressional leadership that was there in 2002 is not there this time and there isn't as much money as before. The hope of NSP is that sorghum will come out well as Congress moves forward with the farm bill. Sorghum growers in south Texas are already planting for the upcoming season, according to NSP officials, and it's important they have a farm policy in place to make educated cropping decisions. The sorghum industry, according to NSP, places high priorities on continuing direct payments and working toward county loan rate equalization. Also, NSP would like to see options in changing the way crop insurance price elections are set for sorghum. Another hot topic for sorghum producers is the proposed National Sorghum Checkoff, which has passed the comment period and is on to the next stage in approval. Lust explained that a national checkoff is critical for producers to meet the research needs for weed and grass control and other issues. "It is critical to have producer dollars to leverage with private industry to move forward as an industry," Lust said. Membership for NSP has increased by 50 percent in one year, and could double again in 18 months. This bodes well for the industry and for programs at the national level, Lust said. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com. 3/10/08 Date: 3/4/08 Advertisement
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
