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Food for Peace transition could bring long-term support for sorghum growers

A Kansas farmer says the Food for Peace program transitioning to USDA could bring reliable, long-term demand for sorghum.

Amy France says it’s been a tough stretch for farmers who continue to face low-commodity prices. “It’s been a difficult time, so to get anything moving on a consistent basis is exciting.”  

She says the program helps improve market access. “China equates for about 80 percent of our exports markets. That’s huge. Food for Peace is about 5 percent. It’s about 3 to 8 percent depending on the time of year. When you see this large chunk going to another country and then five percent, that’s big demand for U.S. sorghum.”

France says the additional demand will help alleviate storage issues from the fall harvest. “Some of us had to have our sorghum contracted…to even bring it into the facility that’s how tight how things were. Being able to see some of this momentum, we’re going to need long term momentum, not just spurts.”

Food for Peace had been overseen by the U.S. Agency for International Development within the State Department, but following USAID’s dissolution, USDA reached an agreement to take over the program.

A source familiar with the negotiations tells Brownfield that Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins wanted to see the program continue in a more farmer-focus way and worked with Secretary Marco Rubio over several months to find a solution and deliver a win for America’s row-crop farmers.  

France says the shift brings structural changes too, including a ban on foreign-grown crops. “It puts as back to its original purpose, which is feeding people in need with U.S. commodities, and it strengthens U.S. agriculture.”

France says the Food for Peace Program could begin as soon as March.