Weathering the highs and lows of farming
As the sun rose on the morning of February 5, grain sorghum growers across Kansas were jolted awake with news that sorghum values had plummeted as much as 25% overnight. A half a world away, China’s Ministry of Commerce had launched anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on exports of U.S. grain sorghum to China. With no bid at the Gulf ports, milo bids at country elevators quickly adjusted with some dropping as much as $1 per bushel or more.
I was on my way to Washington that morning to join National Sorghum Producers, representing Kansas growers at the annual legislative fly-in. When I arrived, I saw the NSP board and staff already in action, providing leadership for our industry and taking steps to demonstrate U.S. growers have done nothing wrong. We have long-standing relationships established with China’s grain buyers and livestock feeding industry and continue to lean on the value of this beneficial business relationship that is a win-win for trade between U.S. farmers and China. We were told this process could last a year or more.
Meanwhile, my mind is on the farm as spring is approaching. As we make plans for 2018 row crop production, the other elephant in the room is the deepening drought situation in Kansas. Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels are low. Historically, I grow several row crops in rotation with wheat to enhance yields, diversify risks and spread out the fall harvest work load. It is no secret that grain sorghum is the most drought tolerant crop in the mix and that seed cost is sharply lower than the others, coming in at around $12 per acre for me. The sugarcane aphid issue has softened thanks to the good work of our Extension people and the seed companies identifying those varieties with SCA tolerance. The later planting window for sorghum in my operation also “buys some time” for the weather pattern to change and hopefully bring rain. Recharging soil moisture is not a fast process.
As we consider planting decisions and the factors surrounding those, we cannot forget we still have other viable markets both domestically in ethanol and through other export customers around the world. We also welcomed the recent news that the European Union removed tariffs from grain sorghum, providing a new opening for opportunities there. Given the current extreme drought we are experiencing in the plains, sorghum is better positioned to have a more reliable yield in many situations for most growers. Following the initial reaction to China, grain buyers are showing faith the market will remain viable because even as old bids have declined, new crop sorghum bids are still historically strong when compared to corn, and bids have been reestablished.
Each year brings a new set of challenges with planning, growing and marketing whatever we raise. This year’s success may well hinge on taking our best shot at drawing upon experience, intuition and lessons we learned from Dad.
— Kent Winter is president of Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association and farmer from Andale, Kansas.
