Fuel use boost to sorghum.

BCDemocratOnline.com
By Candace Krebs

Ag Journal
Posted May 05, 2012 @ 04:58 AM

OAKLEY, Kan. — This spring, Western Plains Energy LLC launched a unique incentive program to encourage area farmers to plant more grain sorghum.


“We went out into the 12 counties around us and had meetings and offered to reimburse growers up to 100 bags of seed just to get the crop planted, without any delivery obligation on them,” said Steve McNinch, the company’s CEO. “Sorghum acreage has been declining for years. We’re trying to demonstrate to growers that there is a market and get them more used to growing it.”

Typically, sorghum offers a slight price advantage to corn, but it also helps satisfy rising demand for renewable fuels from non-corn sources, a category established in the second generation version of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS.) The industry is already meeting or exceeding the mandated usage level set for corn-derived ethanol.

Read more