Kansas Sorghum Update: Kansas Grain Sorghum Holds First 2021 Board Meetings

Starting the new year off with sustained momentum, the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission met for its first meeting of the calendar year on January 28th to listen and discuss updates for current and positive market trends. The Commission is a producer-funded organization committed to sorghum promotion and research designed to develop and expand new markets for sorghum. During their meeting, the Commission received presentations from state and national partners, including from Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Beam, as well as from the United Sorghum Checkoff Program under its new executive director, Norma Ritz Johnson, who started in her role at the beginning of the year. Johnson replaces Florentino Lopez who has served as the organization’s executive director since 2011.

Lopez will continue to serve the sorghum industry in a new capacity consulting on international market development. The groundswell of momentum for grain sorghum continues as the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission received almost a half-dozen candidates vying for just a few spots on the organization’s board. Next, producers will have the chance to vote to fill these leadership positions to help direct Checkoff dollars within our state.

In fact, since this year began, K-State and the Kansas Department of Agriculture have mailed out more than eleven-hundred Kansas Commodity Commission Election ballots to growers who registered to vote for commission elections up for grabs this year in the three USDA Crop Districts in western Kansas alone. Growers are currently receiving ballots in their mailboxes and KDA will count the selections between now and March 1st.

So, good luck to each candidate and if you are interested in becoming more involved in the Commission, contact us at KSGrainSorghum.org for new opportunities.