As I write this, I’m preparing to leave for Kansas to attend meetings held by National Sorghum Producers for participants in USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers initiative. We had another tremendous year in that program, collecting field-level crop-input data at a scale never before tried, so these meetings are really a celebration of all the great work put in by our farmers and staff.
When we first put together this program back in 2022, we never dreamed what it would turn into. At the time, it was simply an initiative to prepare our farmers, ourselves and the supply chain for the coming requirements for field-level information from biofuels markets.
Today, it’s a sweeping program that underpins everything we do in sustainability in sorghum — from work with consumer-packaged goods companies and collaboration with the dairy industry to preparation in helping our farmers capture value as part of the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit.
The inclusion of 45Z in that list isn’t accidental. As we look toward 2026, it’s hard to talk about the year ahead without talking about biofuels. The Office of Management and Budget, with support from the Department of the Treasury, conducted stakeholder meetings through the end of January. Our hope is that final guidance comes sometime this spring.
If the rules land close to what we’ve seen proposed, this will be a transformational opportunity for sorghum. We can’t count our chickens before they hatch, but the potential here is real. This could be the first year we see the framework in place, and 2027 could be the year it truly hits stride.
We’re also heading into 2026 with a much brighter picture on exports than we had a year ago. Just four months into the marketing year, we already have export commitments of 101 million bushels, which is 45% of USDA’s export sales target.
That is a strong start by any measure, and when you zoom out and look at the last decade, this year’s pace is actually better than all but the very best years we’ve had. This is amazing when you consider how much of last year was bogged down by trade uncertainty that affected not just sorghum, but also much of U.S. agriculture.
There’s still a long road ahead, and markets (and politics) can change quickly, but the position we’re in today is a good one.
An agronomic picture
Beyond markets and policy, I’m just as optimistic about sorghum from an agronomic standpoint. The toolbox keeps getting better. Over-the-top herbicide options are continuing to gain traction, giving growers more flexibility and confidence in managing weeds. That matters in a crop that already fits so well into diverse rotations.
Sorghum also remains one of our best water tools on the High Plains. As I wrote to wrap 2025, it uses about one-third less water than corn, and that advantage shows up year after year. Even when we rotate sorghum with crops that use a similar amount of water, such as cotton, it helps us spread irrigation more efficiently across the farm. In a region where every inch counts, that matters.
We’re also seeing impressive growth in sorghum forage acreage. Beef and dairy demand continue to pull more acres into that space, and we don’t see that slowing down.
Sorghum forage delivers high protein and high fiber in a quality feedstuff that fits well into rations. What’s maybe most encouraging is that this growth is not limited to the Sorghum Belt. We’re seeing interest expand into new regions where water isn’t the primary concern.
All of this leaves me feeling cautiously optimistic as we get ready to plant the 2026 crop. We’re heading into the year with stronger export momentum, real potential in biofuels and a crop that continues to prove its value agronomically.
As we prepare to put seed in the ground this spring, it feels like the work we’ve put in over the last couple of years is starting to pay off. I’m hoping for good things in 2026.