Sorghum soars

The excitement David Schemm felt when TEMCO added an export facility at the Port of Houston in early 2023 ranks right up there with skyrocketing sorghum prices and a bumper crop at harvest. 

Grain grown in the Southern Plains naturally flows to the Texas Gulf for export. Since most sorghum grown in the region and U.S. is sold overseas – 80% in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – the Kansas farmer and cooperative owner anticipates more demand and better profit potential for the popular cereal grain. 

“Access to the export facility in Houston through the cooperative system ramps up our ability to get sorghum out of the country so we can tap into existing global markets and develop ones,” Schemm says. “There’s a lot more net benefit for producers.” 

Sorghum growers Jim and Sally Diamond walk through Colorado State University sorghum trials at Akron, Colo. She leads the crop testing program.

Business boom 

TEMCO, a joint venture between CHS and Cargill, also has three terminals in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Wheat, soybeans and corn were predominantly shipped by TEMCO for years. Add sorghum to that list with the Port of Houston expansion. 

The Southern Plains, led by Kansas and Texas, produces 80% of the U.S. sorghum crop, which amounted to 318 million bushels in 2023, according to USDA. 

CHS has become an aggressive sorghum buyer, working to fill export demand through the Texas Gulf.  

“Joint ventures have opened doors for us to pursue opportunities in sorghum,” says Kealan Griffin, CHS lead sorghum trader. “This helps farmers and the entire cooperative system by adding value to the crop.”

Expansion of a grain marketing alliance called Producer Ag in early 2023 also helped maximize complementary assets and connect cooperative- and farmer-owners with customers around the world by leveraging the new TEMCO terminal. Producer Ag is a joint venture between CHS and member cooperative Mid-Kansas Cooperative (MKC).

TEMCO at Houston and Producer Ag are part of the CHS Southern Plains strategy to be more competitive buying and selling grain in the region, says Brian Schouvieller, who represents CHS on the TEMCO board of governors. A nearly fourfold increase in CHS sorghum receipts in fiscal year 2024 indicates the strategy is working.

From September 2023 through April 2024, CHS grain facilities from Illinois to Texas handled more than 10.6 million bushels of sorghum compared to just under 3 million bushels in fiscal year 2023. Griffin says in fiscal year 2024, which ends Aug. 31, sorghum volumes may reach 13 million bushels.

He projects CHS will export about 40 million bushels of sorghum in fiscal year 2024, which includes 18 million to 20 million bushels sourced by member cooperatives within the CHS cooperative system. Nearly all of it will be shipped to China, the largest importer in the world.

“CHS is building its capabilities to originate, market, transport and export grain in the region to meet customer needs,” Schouvieller says. “We have all those assets within our control, which allows us to buy grain in advance.

“We’re able to offer more consistent, competitive bids every day because we can ship directly to customers, which reduces potential margin losses caused by using third parties.”

David Schemm checks young sorghum plants for signs of disease, insects and nutrient deficiency on his farm near Sharon Springs, Kan.

Southern Plains is sorghum central

More than 70% of the sorghum CHS sources in fiscal year 2024 will have been grown in the Southern Plains. All bushels destined for export will go through TEMCO facilities.

CHS United Plains Ag in west-central Kansas had the largest year-over-year increase of sorghum receipts of all CHS facilities. The retail unit sourced nearly 6.3 million bushels during the first eight months of fiscal year 2024 compared to 917,000 bushels in fiscal year 2023.

Evan Fust, general manager of CHS United Plains Ag, based in Sharon Springs, Kan., and CHS High Plains, based in Yuma, Colo., credits the dramatic jump in sorghum volume to improved marketing and demand that led to stronger bids. At times, he says bids were as much as $1 per bushel better than competitors’ bids.

“That’s money back in our owners’ pockets, along with better patronage checks down the road,” Fust says.

CHS sorghum bids have increased 20 to 30 cents per bushel on average since early 2023, Griffin estimates.

Schemm markets 100,000 to 200,000 bushels of sorghum a year through CHS United Plains Ag. He confirms local cash prices have improved, which has benefited his bottom line.

“Better access to export customers provides a better return for producers,” he says.

Schemm planted 2,600 acres of sorghum this spring. He also grows corn and hard red winter wheat, which each typically account for one-quarter to one-third of his acres. Schemm says he may plant more sorghum in the future based on market and climatic conditions and he expects other farmers to follow suit.

Compared to corn, sorghum is more heat- and drought-tolerant and requires less input investment. USDA estimates the 2024 cost of corn production at about $870 per acre compared to sorghum at $431 per acre and projects the average farm price of 2024 sorghum and corn to both come in at $4.30 per

“All farmers are aware of the farm economy with the downturn in prices and high input costs,” Schemm says. “Sorghum has an advantage being a lower-cost, hardy crop. And now it can be a higher-value crop. I think farmers are going to realize that and we’ll see acres creep up.”

Sorghum holds value as a livestock feed ingredient and requires fewer inputs than other feed grains.

Demand outlook

Chinese demand for U.S. sorghum drives the global market. Guoqiang Liu, the CHS operations director based in Shanghai, says he expects demand to remain stable and possibly increase in the near future, barring trade or policy changes between the two countries.

USDA projects the U.S. will export 245 million bushels of sorghum during the 2024–2025 marketing year and Liu predicts more than 90% of that total will go to China. While annual export volume fluctuates due to crop size, demand, politics and price, the percentage of U.S. sorghum exports going to China has remained steady.

According to USDA projections, China will import nearly 315 million bushels of sorghum during the 2024–2025 marketing year. CHS has grown its market share of U.S. sorghum exports in the past 10 years from zero to about 17%, Liu says.

About 80% of sorghum used in China feeds livestock, primarily pigs and poultry. The rest is used to make baijiu, the most widely consumed liquor in the world.

To support domestic corn production, China has an import quota on corn at 7.2 million metric tons (283 million bushels) in 2024. Sorghum is often an affordable alternative to corn for livestock feed, Liu says.

“China must import feed grains to account for its domestic deficit. Sorghum demand to make baijiu is also growing,” he adds.

 Source: USDA

Emerging markets

Today, 20 countries import U.S. sorghum, according to USDA. The United Sorghum Checkoff Program and U.S. Grains Council are working to expand exports and market access to other nations. Mexico imported nearly 79 million bushels of U.S. sorghum during the 2023–2024 marketing year, far behind China.

Schemm, who serves on the United Sorghum Checkoff Program board of directors, is optimistic new buyers will emerge. India, for example, is the world’s second most populous country at just over 1.4 billion people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and its population is growing while China’s is shrinking.

“I’m excited about going to India soon to develop that market and show potential buyers the diverse uses of grain sorghum, from livestock feed to human consumption,” he says. “If we can show them the benefits, that could open up a big market.”

Get more information on the CHS global grain supply chain.

Flexibility advantage

Multiple TEMCO locations — Houston, Kalama and Tacoma, Wash., and Portland, Ore. — provide shipping flexibility that grain buyers appreciate, Griffin says, which has helped grow CHS sorghum export market share. Having export facilities on two coasts offers risk mitigation against weather delays, logistics problems and operational challenges.

“The ability to ship sorghum from the Texas Gulf or the PNW provides a huge advantage,” he says. “CHS representatives in China are talking to feed and liquor manufacturers daily, providing information to help them make buying decisions.”

Most years, Griffin says 75% of U.S. sorghum is exported from the Texas Gulf because of proximity to the primary production region and lower inland transit costs to ports. But shipping traffic through the Panama Canal has been restricted since mid-2023 by low water levels. Freight rates from the Texas Gulf to China have increased due to high costs going through the canal and longer transit times across the Atlantic Ocean.

“The flexibility to shift export locations when markets dictate adds value to the supply chain and gives buyers confidence that CHS is an economical and dependable supplier,” says Griffin.

Liu says cost-conscious Chinese buyers like having the option to choose between multiple export facilities to find the lowest ocean and rail freight rates. “We’re confident, especially with the Houston port as part of the sorghum program, that we can maintain and possibly grow our market share.”

Being able to originate sorghum from multiple country elevators to meet buyer needs is an advantage of the cooperative system, says Fust. CHS added grain facilities in early 2024 in Cheyenne Wells and Byers, Colo., with a combined 11 million bushels of storage space. The Cheyenne Wells area is known for sorghum production, solidifying the system’s sorghum origination base.

“That’s the value of a co-op,” says Fust, “adding value to your crop.”

Listen in for additional information about sorghum in an Around the Table podcast.

Check out the full Summer 2024 C magazine with this article and more.