LUBBOCK, Texas — The United Sorghum Checkoff Program will fund a 5-year, $1.21 million project with the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) station at Lubbock, TX, that will continue and expand research the service has conducted on sorghum cold and drought tolerance and the identification of unique sorghum genetics.

The project will also seek to develop and mark key genes in sorghum. The effort will be led by John Burke, PhD, the Lubbock USDA-ARS’ laboratory director.


“Dr. Burke and his team have become leaders in public sorghum research, working intimately with private industry and other public institutions to release game-changing genetics to the sorghum industry,” said Stewart Weaver, Sorghum Checkoff chairman and sorghum grower from Edmondson, AK. “This is another great example of how producer dollars are being used to enhance sorghum genetics.”

The United Sorghum Checkoff is a producer-funded organization dedicated to improving the sorghum industry through research, promotion and education.