Sorghum Farmers Weighing Acreage Shifts as Market Surges on Export Demand

New-crop sorghum demand is the highest “we have ever seen at this time in the season,” one sorghum industry leader said recently as cash basis levels are bid as much as $2 higher than the futures market in attempts to attract more acres in the booming market. Demand for the crop is at record levels, with USDA’s announcement last week of weekly export sales that soared beyond previous records to 33.9 million bushels. The number, driven largely by major purchases by China, beat the previous weekly export sales number by 10 million bushels. Though most planting decisions are made in the Plains where the vast majority of the nation’s sorghum is grown, there remain a fair number of flex acres that could go to the crop as demand continues and pushes new-crop prices beyond the $5/bushel mark. See more on the booming sorghum market.