As commodity prices remain stubbornly low, Delaware and regional farmers are expanding their search for profitable alternatives, with many taking a fresh look at grain sorghum.
The crop, also known as milo, has attracted renewed interest from local growers who are planting it on fields where traditional crops like corn and soybeans offer little financial return.
Though the majority of American sorghum acreage lies in the Great Plains, this grain is far from new to the Mid-Atlantic area. Historical USDA records indicate that before genetically modified corn and soybeans took over the agricultural landscape, approximately one million acres of sorghum were cultivated along the east coast. While Delmarva states now grow only a small portion of that amount, each state expanded its sorghum acreage last year beyond the three-year average, federal data shows.
Wicomico County farmer Mike Harcum remembers university researchers promoting sorghum back in the late 1980s.
“They were pushing it as an alternative to corn then,” he said. “Everybody tried it.”
However, many producers were dissatisfied with the crop at that time due to various problems including weed control difficulties, disappointing yields, and harvesting complications. Harcum admits that most seasons, he plants sorghum reluctantly as a last-ditch effort to recover something from fields destroyed by deer.
“We don’t put it on our best ground,” he said. “For me it’s a rotation thing. A lot of it’s got to do with the farm. Weather will dictate some of it.”
But persistent low corn prices and escalating deer pressure have driven farmers back to sorghum in recent years, according to agricultural industry professionals. Genetic improvements over the past decades have enhanced both yields and crop management practices.
Tyler Franklin, who owns Elevated Ag Systems in Eastern Virginia, says sorghum comes up in conversations with nearly every seed customer he visits. Franklin explains that current and projected commodity market conditions have growers considering every available option.
“If corn was $6, we wouldn’t be talking about it,” he said. “The demand is there, but that’s not the driver. The economics is pushing them along.”
Sorghum offers several advantages, including superior heat and drought resistance compared to corn, development of larger root systems, and the ability to interrupt nematode cycles that harm soybean fields. Farmers report it shows promise in double-cropping situations and typically generates substantial biomass that adds to soil organic matter. Despite genetic and agronomic improvements, its greatest appeal remains its unpalatable nature to deer.
“In the last 10 years, deer have become such a problem on some places, you either plant milo or give up farming it,” Harcum said.
Steve Hurley, Harcum’s neighbor and a veteran sorghum producer who plants between 300 and 400 acres each year, initially chose the crop to combat deer damage. He has since invested in on-farm storage facilities for sorghum and established contracts with birdseed manufacturers.
Through years of experience, Hurley says they have conducted extensive experiments with planting timing, seeding rates, and other factors, as the crop’s relatively small local acreage generates limited research compared to more common row crops.
“Every year you learn a little more,” Hurley said. “We’ve had to teach ourselves a lot over the last few years.”
While sorghum requires less labor overall than corn production, Hurley emphasizes that placing it on marginal land doesn’t justify marginal management practices.
“There’s some potential,” Hurley said. “But if you treat it like a stepchild, it’ll pay you like a stepchild.”
Seed technology improvements have enhanced the situation through herbicide tolerance and varieties better adapted to Mid-Atlantic growing conditions.
Following a seven-year development process, Carolina Seed Systems introduced its Launch sorghum variety in 2019 with anthracnose resistance and strong aphid tolerance, later releasing Launch 2.0 with genetic aphid resistance.
Company founder and Chief Technology Officer Zach Brenton reports plans to launch three additional varieties next year featuring improved yield potential, while also developing herbicide tolerance traits.
Since 2021, Corteva, Advanta, and S&W Seed Company have introduced proprietary systems combining herbicide-tolerant varieties with specialized herbicide formulations that enable post-emergence grass control.
Brenton says Carolina Seed System varieties are planted from Pennsylvania to Louisiana, with Maryland showing the fastest acreage growth. He advises farmers that areas where corn consistently produces under 140 bushels per acre or soybeans yield below 30 bushels per acre should seriously consider sorghum.
“Our biggest thing is profitability,” he said. “That’s the only way someone would change what they’re doing. They need to make more money.”
As a plant breeder, Brenton notes that their sorghum focus places his company among a small national group, and an even more exclusive one in the Eastern United States.
“I joke that I’m one of the top 10 sorghum breeders in the country because there’s like eight of us left,” Brenton said.
Despite sorghum’s small acreage relative to corn and soybeans, their regionally-focused breeding program captures between 60-70% of Delmarva’s sorghum acres, according to Brenton.
“There’s no secret sauce, it’s because we breed and test here,” Brenton said. “Plant breeding is like a home field advantage. My germplasm doesn’t work in Kansas and there’s doesn’t work out here.”
With high corn input costs, planting sorghum at roughly half the expense on acres where corn performs poorly or suffers repeated deer destruction has gained increased regional consideration.
Jarrett Hostetter, a grain merchandiser with Hostetter Grain in Oxford, Pennsylvania, observed a definite surge of grower interest.
“There was definitely a groundswell of growers that were interested in it,” said Hostetter. “I expect that to continue.”
Two years ago, Hostetter’s company allocated bin space at their Cochranville facility to accept sorghum from growers in Northern Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania, doubling that capacity the following year.
“It’s more about providing a service for growers that grow the crop,” he said, noting most planted sorghum to address deer pressure. “The demand is definitely there. It’s been pretty consistent.”
Regional demand primarily comes from birdseed companies incorporating sorghum into their products.
T.J. Collins, merchandising manager for Global Harvest Foods, which operates facilities in multiple states including Allentown, Pennsylvania, confirms substantial Mid-Atlantic usage.
“We use a very significant amount in the Mid-Atlantic,” said Collins. “It’s a very economical grain for us.”
Collins explains that over half their national sorghum purchases supply their Pennsylvania and Indiana facilities located near population centers. This proximity allows Global to offer premiums above corn prices, which sorghum typically follows.
“We can’t buy enough out in that area,” he said “The more I can buy locally, the more I can back off on rail.”
Gary Wessner, merchandiser at Albrights Mill in Kempton, Pennsylvania, recalls that decades ago sorghum purchases were much more seasonal, but now he buys year-round.
“It’s more steady today and it does seem like it keeps growing,” he said.
However, farmers caution that advances and demand don’t make sorghum a guaranteed success. Planting on marginal ground affects yields. Weeds, aphids, and anthracnose remain problematic. Harvest complications, from drying issues to bird damage after maturity, create additional challenges. Storage and transportation costs can erode premiums offered by end users. Still, until deer damage is significantly reduced or corn markets return to profitability, sorghum remains a viable alternative.
“If we pick up the weaker acres, our overall profits increase,” Franklin said. “To me, that’s really where we need to start.”
