Grain Sorghum Trivia

• The common grain sorghum plant grown in Kansas is called milo.

• The United States is the world’s largest producer of grain sorghum.

• Over 80% of the grain sorghum produced in Kansas is used as livestock feed.

• Most of the ethanol produced in Kansas is made from grain sorghum.

• Grain sorghum does not contain carotene, which is a source of vitamin A and pigmentation. Chicken eating grain sorghum will produce pale egg yolks and have pale feet and skin unless pigment supplements are added to the feed.

• Sorghum is the leading cereal grain in Africa.

• There are approximately 750 to 1,250 seeds in one grain sorghum head.

• World-wide, about 2/3 of the sorghum consumed is for food. Sorghum provides an important part in the diet of many people in the world in the form of unleavened breads, boiled porridge or gruel, malted beverages, and specialty foods such as popped grain and beer.

• Grain sorghum seed is very small - about 12,000 to 15,000 seeds equal one pound of grain sorghum.

• Sorghum is currently grown in over 66 countries.