Sorghum was grown primarily for syrup until the settlement of the semiarid West created a demand for drought-resistant forage crops. Interest in sorghum syrup is renewed whenever a shortage of sugar results in higher sugar prices. Sorghum production is concentrated in areas where the rainfall is insufficient and the temperatures are too high for profitable corn production. Thus most of the domestic sorghum acreage is in the southern Great Plains states, with Texas, Kansas and Nebraska the leading producers. However, some sweet sorghum has been grown for syrup or silage in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Sorghum syrup is extracted from the plant by crushing the stalk.
The syrup is produced primarily in the United States and is used by the food industry as a substitute for sugar. Recent research has evaluated sorghum as a feed stock for production of ethanol. The grain from sorghum can be used as feed for poultry and livestock. Sorghum is a coarse grass that grows as an annual in the Upper Midwest. Stems are erect and solid and reach a height of 2 to 12 ft.