Farmers find new gluten-free market opportunities with this stress-tolerant crop
Grain sorghum is called the water-sipping crop, a quality that endears it to many farmers in high-heat, low-moisture parts of the country. Unfortunately, that description applies to just about everywhere this summer, including north central Missouri, where Ron Beetsma and his family farm near Mooresville. By late June, the family’s ground was parched, rain was a distant memory, and their corn crop curled in the field. But not their 1,500-acre-plus grain sorghum crop; it was knee-high and vibrant green.