“#SupportEthanol spelled out in Kansas sorghum field calls out to Washington

In Kansas, National Sorghum Producers (shared a high-altitude view of a top policy priority with newly released aerial photos of a farm plot in Kansas emblazoned with “#SupportEthanol” spelled out in giant letters of sorghum. Rocky Ormiston, a farmer from Kismet, planted the message using the latest in precision agricultural tools and a mix of red and white/yellow sorghum varieties.

Ormiston planted the design using customized equipment on a DB80 John Deere planter, which drops seeds in a pre-set pattern guided by satellite, aerial and drone imagery. Details on the process were featured in this summer’s issue of Sorghum Grower magazine.

Like much of the sorghum grown across Kansas, portions of the harvest are likely destined for one of twelve Kansas ethanol plants, seven utilizing sorghum, which produce half a billion gallons a year.