Sorghum was introduced to the United States from Africa in the early part of the seventeenth century. It was not grown extensively in this country until the 1850s, when the forage variety Black Amber also called Chinese sugarcane was introduced from France. Since then many other varieties have been introduced from other countries or developed domestically. Sorghum was grown primarily for syrup until the settlement of the semiarid West created a demand for droughtresistant forage crops. By the 1950s, about 90 of the acreage of sweet sorghums in the United States was grown for forage. 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.

Address: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907 USA
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Website: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/syrup.html