A 25,000 metric ton (984,000 bushels) shipment of U.S. sorghum arrived in Morocco this week, coinciding with the U.S. Grains Council Sorghum Road Show being held in the region. USGC Consultants Dr. Michael Brouk and Dr. Scott Beyer were brought in to work with local ruminant and poultry nutritionists to ensure sorghum was assigned proper nutritive values in ration formulation calculations while offering insight on the milling characteristics of U.S. sorghum. “Everyone we met with was encouraged by the quality of U.S. grain sorghum, as it reduces feed costs while improving feed quality and bird health,” said Dr. Beyer, who specializes in poultry nutrition. Sorghum is currently duty-free in Morocco, allowing it to be a price-competitive feed ingredient. The Council works with end-users in the region, offering one-on-one consultations and other educational opportunities to increase awareness of U.S. sorghum and its value as a feed ingredient. “With the import duty for sorghum currently at zero percent, the U.S. product has an opportunity to penetrate the Moroccan marketplace,” said Kurt Shultz, USGC director in the Mediterranean and Africa. The Council worked with the buyer of the most recent shipment of U.S. sorghum and its customers to host the seminars this week. The seminars offer a venue for end-users to build relationships with U.S. industry experts to continue the importation of U.S. sorghum. The consultants also met with representatives from large feedmillers and COPAG, the local dairy cooperative, to work on maximizing the utilization of U.S. sorghum. Dairy producers in the region are continuously watching milk production and the effects of feed ingredients on the production levels. “Utilizing data from several beef and dairy feeding trials, I was able to help several producers understand the effects of sorghum on milk production and animal growth performance,” said Dr. Brouk. Shultz said, “The Council recognizes the potential for U.S. sorghum in the market and is working to create momentum for imports on a more regular basis.” This initiative was made possible by Council member United Sorghum Checkoff Program and sorghum checkoff members’ investments in the Council.