This information can save money, help state and local governments work more efficiently, and ensure that economic development policies and investments are based on the best information available. One of Texas' top crops could be coming to your dinner table soon. Sorghum, a grain traditionally used for livestock feed, is now being engineered and marketed for human consumption. A company based in the Panhandle has created sorghum flour, brownie and pancake mixes, as well as a breakfast cereal. Another potential market includes sufferers of celiac disease, an intolerance to the gluten in wheat.
Sorghum contains less fat and more protein than corn, the grain's biggest competitor.
Texas is the nation's second largest producer of sorghum. Growers planted 3.3 million acres in 1997, down from about 4.4 million acres in 1996. Since it is a sturdy crop in dry weather, sorghum replaced significant amounts of cotton and other acreage on the heels of the drought in 1996. Sorghum typically has a strong nutty taste, but the variety bred for human consumption replaces the normal reddish-brown grains with white grains that provide a milder taste that should be easier on American palates. Successful marketing of sorghum for human consumption could drive up crop prices as demand increases, convincing even more farmers to devote their land to the crop.