TEXAS

For West Texas farmer Brandon Walker, rotating cotton acres to sorghum has been more than a practical choice—it’s been a path to stability in a volatile market.

Walker farms near Spade, where he rents about 640 acres and custom-farms another 1,100 acres. After years of raising cotton, wheat, and cattle, he began expanding sorghum acres to cut costs and conserve water.

“The inputs on cotton just got too high,” Walker said. “Sorghum lets me keep farming without burning through fertilizer, water, and chemicals. I can raise a crop at half the cost.”

He estimates it takes $800 to $1,000 per acre to grow irrigated cotton in his area, compared with roughly half that for sorghum. The crop’s shorter season and drought tolerance made it a natural fit for his rotation.

Walker said this year’s timely rains and cooler early-summer temperatures brought one of his best dryland sorghum crops yet. “My April-planted milo did great,” he said. “Less water, less fertilizer, and it still yielded strong.”

One of the biggest advantages is proximity to the Levelland ethanol plant, just 25 miles away. Walker sells his grain directly, avoiding long hauls and capitalizing on local demand.

“The ethanol plants have been steady buyers,” he said. “Even with prices where they are, around $7.50 per hundredweight ($4.20/bu), it helps when your trucking costs are low.”

Sorghum’s stubble also plays a key role in his conservation plan. “The residue keeps the soil from blowing all winter,” Walker said. “It holds moisture and cuts down on fertilizer next year.”

He plans to put in wheat directly behind his sorghum and rotate back next spring. “I’ll go right back to milo,” he said. “It’s easier to manage than 1,000 acres of cotton, and with labor short, that matters.”

For Walker, the shift to sorghum is also part of a bigger goal: regenerative farming. He’s focused on keeping living roots in the soil, building organic matter, and reducing erosion to improve long-term productivity.

“Every acre I can keep covered and rooted helps our water table and cuts our carbon footprint,” he said. “That stubble mulch holds rain where it falls instead of letting it run off, and it keeps the ground cooler and healthier. It’s good for the soil—and it’s the right thing to do.”

Walker says sorghum will be in his rotation in 2026. “With cotton gins consolidating and weather patterns shifting, cotton’s just not in a good place right now,” he said. “Sorghum works, it fits our climate, it fits our costs, and it’s keeping us going.”

KANSAS

Fifth-generation farmers Amy and Brant Peterson have turned dryland challenges into opportunity by building a sustainable, diverse operation with sorghum at its core.

For Amy Peterson, farming in Stanton County Kansas with her husband Brant, has always been about learning to adapt. The fifth-generation operation covers about 8,500 acres of corn, sorghum, and wheat, along with 2,600 acres of grass and CRP ground that supports their cow-calf herd. Like many across western Kansas, the Petersons have watched irrigation give way to dryland farming, and that shift has made sorghum a cornerstone of their rotation.

“We used to be mostly irrigated,” Peterson said. “But as the Ogallala (Aquifer) declined, we had to start figuring out how to make dryland work. That’s what really pushed us toward sorghum. It’s water-efficient, it fits our rotation, and it just makes sense.”

Sorghum has long been part of the Peterson rotation, but in recent years it has taken on a new level of importance. With more research and better hybrids, Peterson said the data now backs up what her husband’s grandfather always believed: “Don’t grow something a cow won’t eat.”

“That stuck with us,” she said. “Sorghum checks a lot of boxes: it feeds our cows, it feeds people, it fits our ground, and it conserves water.”

The Petersons have also carved out a niche in food-grade sorghum through Nu Life Market. Their naturally low-cadmium soils make their grain ideal for certain export markets and specialty uses. “We’ve had some of our sorghum go into baby food products and other food uses,” Peterson said. “It’s pretty incredible to see something you grew end up in that kind of market.”

This year’s crop has been especially strong after welcome rains. “It’s one of the best dryland crops I’ve seen in a long time,” Peterson said. “And our irrigated field looks excellent; we’re entering it in the yield contest again. I’m really proud of how the crop turned out this year.”

While markets remain tough, Amy remains optimistic about sorghum’s long-term potential. “It hasn’t been fun losing money the last few years,” she said. “But I know what this crop can do—food, fuel, feed, even flour. It’s nutritious, shelf-stable, and grown right here in the U.S. We just have to keep telling that story.”

That story has taken the Petersons from southwest Kansas to national and international conversations. Earlier this year, they hosted a Chinese delegation at their farm in partnership with Export Sorghum, showcasing sorghum in every part of the meal. “I wanted to make sure they saw sorghum in all its forms,” Peterson said. “It’s important to be at the table, even if you don’t always agree on everything. The excitement they had about what we grow reminded me why we do this.”

Looking ahead, Amy sees opportunity in new varieties and technology, particularly equipment that improves sorghum processing for feed and dairy use. “We’re sitting between three dairies here,” she said. “Sorghum could fill an even bigger role in feed rations if we can make it easier to process. It’s about bridging that gap.”

Asked what she’d tell a grower considering sorghum, Peterson didn’t hesitate. “You can’t lose by trying it,” she said. “It’s affordable, it’s user-friendly, and it uses less water. Just pick the right hybrid for your area, and give it a shot.”

And if there’s one thing she hopes more people realize? “That you can cook it and eat it,” she said with a laugh. “It’s beautiful, it’s versatile, and it’s grown in the U.S. Sorghum has been part of American farming for generations—we’re just finally giving it the spotlight it deserves.”

NEBRASKA

For third-generation farmer Tyler Bose of Arcadia, Neb., sorghum has become a key part of managing both his cattle and crop acres. What began as an experiment five years ago has grown into a dependable, profitable crop in his rotation.

Bose and his father run about 400 head of cow-calf pairs and raise roughly 790 acres of corn, soybeans and sorghum. “This year I had roughly 110 acres of sorghum, some forage but mostly grain,” he said. 

The season started dry, prompting Bose to plant more forage sorghum to use as emergency feed or grazing if grass ran short. “I planted it in dust and didn’t think it would even grow, but we got well-timed rains.” This year brought nearly twice the rainfall he typically sees. “It’s been a great year for dryland sorghum. I’d almost consider it irrigated.”

The extra moisture helped support strong yields across his dryland acres. He expects his best grain sorghum fields to produce between 150 and 200 bushels per acre, while even the hail-damaged ground could make 80 to 150.

Sorghum’s value goes beyond yield for his operation. The stalks provide high-quality winter grazing, and Bose said his cows perform better on it than on corn residue. “They’re more digestible, and I usually get two to three times the grazing off them,” he said. 

He markets most of his grain to the elevator in Elm Creek and sells some locally to livestock producers who use it for chicken and hog feed. “There’s a lot of new research showing benefits for gut health and overall animal performance,” Bose said. Even with softer cash prices and a weaker basis, he said good yields and local demand have helped.

Profitability remains a key reason sorghum will stay in his rotation. “As a young farmer, I’m always looking to keep my ROI high and my input costs low,” he said. “I can put sorghum in the ground for about $234 an acre, and even at $3 a bushel, I’m still profitable.”

This fall, Bose also hosted a field day for local FFA students to learn about sorghum production. The students toured Bose’s fields, learning about planting, forage management, harvesting and grain marketing. The hands-on experience gave them a practical view of how sorghum fits into a modern farming operation and the opportunities it can offer future producers.

“We wanted to show the next generation that there are options out there,” he said. “If they’re interested in growing it, there are people who can help.”

Looking ahead, Bose said sorghum will continue to play a central role in his operation. “No matter what else we plant, I’ll always keep sorghum in the rotation,” he said. “It’s profitable, it’s resilient, and it gives me flexibility with both feed and grain. It just makes sense.”