Kansas harvested 252 million bushels of grain sorghum—commonly called milo—in 2025, but a large crop did not guarantee easy sales or strong returns. A September 2025 account from a Pawnee County cooperative described unsold grain from the prior crop taking up shipping capacity as the next harvest approached. The market picture later changed: China reopened to U.S. sorghum, while Kansas industry groups continued pursuing more domestic and international demand.
How large was the Kansas milo crop?
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that Kansas harvested 2.8 million acres of grain sorghum in 2025, averaging 90 bushels per acre for a total of 252 million bushels. Its Kansas State Agriculture Overview, with data current through October 8, 2026, lists a 2025 price of $6.02 per hundredweight and production value of $860,832,000. A hundredweight is 100 pounds, so that price should not be compared directly with a per-bushel quote without converting the units and accounting for the different measurement basis. USDA NASS Kansas State Agriculture Overview
The Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission’s March 2026 testimony to the Legislature also put 2025 production at 252 million bushels, up from 182 million in marketing year 2024/25. The commission said Kansas produced 58% of the U.S. crop in marketing year 2025/26. These figures describe different periods and sources: USDA’s state overview gives the crop estimate, while the commission’s testimony supplies industry-reported marketing-year context. Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission testimony to the Kansas Legislature, March 2026
Why can a tremendous crop still be hard to sell?
Old inventory can compete with the new harvest for capacity
In a September 5, 2025, report, Kansas Reflector described a Pawnee County Co-Op trying to find buyers for 1.7 million bushels from the previous crop. The cooperative’s CFO, Kim Barnes, said it shipped one million bushels by rail during the month described. Moving that carryover while new grain was arriving occupied storage, handling, and shipping capacity at that cooperative, tightening the room available for the incoming crop. This is a documented local example, not evidence that every Kansas elevator faced the same backlog. Kansas Reflector, September 5, 2025
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Low crop prices meet rising production costs
The same 2025 report portrayed farmers and the cooperative as squeezed by low commodity prices and rising costs. Barnes contrasted milo at $4.32 per hundredweight in 2016, $12.82 at the end of 2022, and $5.71 at the time of the report. Those are interview figures tied to that article’s reporting date, not current quotes or a direct comparison with USDA’s $6.02-per-hundredweight 2025 figure, which is an official crop statistic with a different source and time basis. The available sources do not quantify how much any single cost, policy, or trade change reduced Kansas farm revenue.
Andy Hineman, vice president of the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association, called the crop outlook strong in the September 2025 report: “It’s going to be a tremendous crop for much of the sorghum growing area.” The challenge was converting that production into timely sales at prices that could cover farmers’ costs.
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How did the China market change?
In September 2025, Kansas Reflector reported that China had been a highly significant destination for U.S. milo, with about 60% of exports going there in a typical pattern, according to a sorghum association spokesman. At that time, the report described major disruption to the China market and farmers’ search for buyers elsewhere. Nick Levendofsky, executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union, put the concern this way: “If China is shutting the door on us, we’ve got to find an opening somewhere.” The 60% figure is that article’s attributed historical estimate, not a current export share.
By March 2026, the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission’s legislative testimony said China had reopened its market to U.S. sorghum and described large sales during the current marketing year. That later development means the 2025 disruption should not be mistaken for a permanent closure. It also does not establish that China will remain open, that the same export share will return, or that sales will solve every producer’s marketing problem.
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Where can Kansas milo go besides China?
Kansas sorghum has several established or potential uses, but their scale and certainty differ. In figures for the 2024/25 marketing year reproduced in the commission’s testimony from the U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council, usage was 41.7% livestock feed, 29.2% exports, and 29.2% food, seed, and industrial uses. Those are marketing-year usage shares; they are not interchangeable with the September 2025 article’s estimate of China’s typical share of exports.
| Outlet or channel | What the sources establish | What remains uncertain |
|---|---|---|
| Livestock feed | Accounted for 41.7% of U.S. sorghum usage in 2024/25, in figures reproduced in Kansas industry testimony. | The sources do not specify how much additional Kansas volume local feed buyers can absorb. |
| Exports | Accounted for 29.2% of U.S. usage in 2024/25; the commission later reported China’s market reopening and large sales in the current marketing year. | Future purchases, destination mix, and the durability of market access are not established. |
| Food, seed, and industrial uses | Accounted for 29.2% of U.S. usage in 2024/25. The 2025 report discussed milo flour, sorghum foods, and ethanol among uses or areas of interest. | The sources do not quantify new demand or show that specialty outlets can replace bulk export or feed volumes. |
| Forage, fuel, pet food, and value-added products | Identified among uses or development priorities in Kansas industry reporting and the state industry plan. | A strategy or potential outlet is not evidence of confirmed purchases at a scale that materially changes farm sales. |
In September 2025, Hineman said, “There’s a lot of work being done on improving domestic use of milo and improving additional markets.” The report also mentioned Mexico and India as possible markets. Later, the commission described export-conference activity and relationship-building in markets including Mexico, Spain, and Saudi Arabia. These efforts point to ways the industry is trying to broaden demand, not proof that each destination or new product has absorbed substantial tonnage.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is Kansas Sorghum doing to build demand?
Kansas Sorghum announced a five-year strategic plan on August 27, 2026, aimed at developing demand across food, feed, forage, fuel, and value-added products, alongside resource conservation and innovation. Brant Peterson, chairman of the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission, said: “Our innovative investments today must translate into profitable opportunities tomorrow, for Kansas farmers, by Kansas farmers.” The plan sets priorities; it does not guarantee new buyers, replacement demand, or higher farm income. Kansas Sorghum five-year strategic-plan announcement, August 27, 2026
What the market story means for farm sales
A record-sized or otherwise large harvest is only one part of a farm’s financial outcome. A producer’s sale depends on when buyers are active, what price and delivery terms they offer, whether storage and transport are available, and whether the crop can meet a buyer’s requirements. The Pawnee County account illustrates how old inventory and rail movement can constrain a particular selling window; it does not establish a statewide capacity shortage. For producers evaluating options, the key distinction is between a confirmed buyer and delivery opportunity and a market-development effort that may take time to turn into purchases.
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- Typically equal to red milo in nutrition.
- Does not contain the tannic acid present in the red milo.
- Generally whitish color more appealing than reddish.
What is established—and what is not
- Established: USDA NASS reports 252 million bushels of Kansas grain sorghum production in 2025 and a crop price of $6.02 per hundredweight in its state overview.
- Documented locally in 2025: A Pawnee County cooperative sought buyers for 1.7 million bushels of prior-crop grain and shipped one million bushels by rail during the month described.
- Changed since the 2025 report: Kansas industry testimony in March 2026 said China had reopened its market to U.S. sorghum and cited large sales in the current marketing year.
- Not established by these sources: A quantified statewide revenue loss caused by any one policy or trade change, the volume new specialty markets can absorb, or a guaranteed return from the industry’s plans.
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