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Official Grain Inspection


U.S. Drought Monitor
This week saw continued expansion of areas of drought across portions of the Southwest, Plains, lower Midwest, South, Southeast, and the Mid-Atlantic. Conversely, areas of the Midwest experienced above normal precipitation with Michigan having its 2nd wettest and Ohio its 5th wettest on record. While areas in the Dakotas expanded their D0 and D1 categories due to unseasonably warm temperatures and below normal precipitation during the past 30-to-60 days.

Looking ahead, the National Weather Service is calling for dry conditions across the western U.S., Plains, and lower Midwest.

China Continues to Drive Sorghum Acreage and Consumption
In the USDA's Agricultural Projections to 2027, they project sorghum planted area to increase by nearly 1 million acres in 2018. This increase would bring sorghum to roughly 6.7 million acres, which is an increase of 17 percent from the 2017 levels.

Nearly three-quarters of every sorghum acre harvested will be exported, and if China continues its current purchasing trends, two-thirds of these acres will be destined for China.

Since 2013, U.S. sorghum exports reached a high of 384 million bushels in 2015, with 93 percent of those exports going to China.