sorghum?

[huntfish365]

What is it harvested for? I was under the impression that it was good bird cover because of the seeds for food.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Mostly chopped and used as silage.

[Cody Lubeley]

It holds pheasants for sure.

Last weekend i hunted some property that the guy had managed for pheasants and he had three 50 yd X 50yd food plots of sorghum. We walked the entire property and everytime we got to one of the sorghum plots out jumped the pheasants. It seemed to be the only place the birds were holding.

[kentuck_ike]

I was wondering how sorghum is planted, is it rows, spread or drilled. Can it be planted with a corner type planter? i want to change one of my corner plots to sorghum but I am not sure how to grow it.

[PerchJrkr]

99% sure its planed with a drill..

[mrklean]

it s drilled

[Jameson]

Also does well being lightly broadcasted...

[huntfish365]

I hear the deer don't mind using it as cover either. Once they jump in you rarely see them again. Does anyone know if it is in the corn family? Sure looks similar.

[vister]

they are rather similar, sorghum and corn. sorghum is much shorter, smaller grains produced, and a finer, but better root system. other than that, the apperances are almost identical.

[WaveWacker]

Two basic different types of sorghum. Grain and Cane. Cane sorghum can get very tall (`8' or so). Grain sorghum is shorter and easier to hunt (if your walking through it).

[Bad Catcher]

I have to add that you are all correct. My family has been planting Sorghum cane for the sweet nectar that closely resembles the Molasses in the store. Many farmers use it for silage and sweet feed. The head is harvested for the seeds. It can be planted in either fashion, depending on the useage. It grows like corn. We use it for sauces and sweeteners, cookies and the like.

[Dotch]

Just curious Bad Catcher, do you have a roller or press device you process the stalks with, then boil down the juice? Always heard about the procedure from my Dad but never actually witnessed it. He bought some sorghum syrup when I was a kid and I gotta confess, I wasn't all that thrilled with the taste on pancakes. He loved it, like some of the other Depression era "things" he used to make us try from time to time. Mom used it up in cookies and it was great there, as you said, sort of a molasses tasting type material.

Good info BTW, the only thing I'll add is that grain sorghum is grown primarily in the Great Plains areas of OK, MO, TX, KS, NE, & CO. Sorghum is a native to Africa, likely from the zone south of the Sahara Desert. Cultivation in the US did not begin until the mid to late 1850's. I grew some grain sorghum a few years ago for a food plot, planted it with a corn planter after getting the plates special ordered for my old 450 IH planter. Huns and pheasants loved it!

[sparcebag]

Does'nt alot of it go as bird seed,A growing multimillion dollar Buss.

[Dotch]

Have seen it in the bird seed blends but not sure how much winds up there as a percentage. Most grain sorghum in the US is used for livestock feed or has been exported. Not sure if livestock feed includes the birdseed portion of domestic use or not. I know for those who are celiacs (gluten intolerant), it is one of the grains that can be substituted for wheat. Figured the sorghum growers must have a HSOforum and sure enough they do. The link is:

National Sorghum Producers

[slimngrizzly]

I wanted sorgum as a part of my foodplots this year as well. Here is a picture of in in mid-sept. I dragged the surface, brodcasted the seed with a hand broadcaster, then re-drug, packed, and that was it. All with an ATV. I couldnt be happier with it. Even the small stuff that was way behind still produced a head of seed. I will be planting it every year now... its too easy not to. And A LOT better cover!

[kentuck_ike]

Did you plant grain or Cane sorghum?

[slimngrizzly]

Grain Sorgum. Its perfect, all about waist high.