The people involved and the industry’s mission are what makes Cassandra Jones, Ph.D., a member of the Collaborative Sorghum Investment Program (CSIP) Advisory Board, proud to work with those in the sorghum industry.

“I love my job because of the people that I get to interact with,” Jones said. “In this case, I really value their mission to improve profitability to growers, their mission to improve profitability to animal producers and human food producers and just to better understand the science behind it.”

Jones is an associate professor and the undergraduate research coordinator in the Department of Animal Sciences & Industry at Kansas State University where she said she is focused on teaching students on all aspects of animal science, including nutrition and how sorghum can be incorporated in feedstock diets. She was selected to join the CSIP Advisory Board by the Dean of the K-State College of Agriculture as a KSU representative in 2016.

The CSIP advisory board is composed of seven individuals representing K-State, the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. They are tasked with allocating funding to different research and marketing projects to increase the value of sorghum.

Jones has an extensive background in livestock feed research in a wide variety of species but is primarily focused in the swine industry. This, combined with her knowledge of the sorghum industry and sorghum as a feed ingredient, is what she said allows her to provide context to the board in those aspects of proposals.

Whether they are looking at projects improving the yield, quality or value of sorghum, Jones said she appreciates the perspective the CSIP advisory board provides when looking into sorghum research and the role she plays on the team.

“We’re really going about it in terms of a grassroots effort of truly understanding what is occurring scientifically and investing in the science and using that to make positive movement in the sorghum industry,” Jones said

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This story originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Issue of Sorghum Grower magazine as a feature.