American Sorghum Presentation Draft. Initial overview of sorghum market, growth plan and company descriptions. Gluten-free, lowers cholesterol, lowers blood sugar, high in antibiotics, high in protein, a super food!
2. The Company Concept
Franchise Farming
■
Buying Power: lower costs
■
Shared Equipment: no need to buy
■
Distribution: various sales channels
■
Processing: planting, harvesting, milling, bottling...
■
Incubator Services: web development,social media, packaging...
Regional Sustainability
■
Best Practices
■
Education
■
Research & Development
Brand & Conquer
■
Branding
■
Marketing
■
Social Media Presence
3. Sorghum Information
Benefits (To name a few)
■
Low glycemic value
■
High in Protein, fiber, antioxidants
■
Drought resistant & can handle flooding!
■
Among the most efficient crops in conversion of solar energy
Markets
■
■
■
■
■
Bio-fuel (if surplus?)
Animal Feed
Healthy Foods
Gluten-Free
Niche markets: organic, specialty flours...
The Numbers
■
40% increase in the last two years
■
$1.3 Billion industry in the U.S. ( over 20x less than corn)
4. Sorghum Information and trends
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service
http://www.nass.usda.gov
Syrup production can yield an average well over $3000 per acre
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CDBREC/introsheets/swsorghumintro.pdf
6. News Clips
KANSAS CITY — Promoters of grain sorghum think this relatively small participant among fallharvested U.S. food crops is ready to come into its own.
In fact, sorghum almost seems custom designed to benefit from current needs in the agricultural marketplace.
Exportable? Check. Drought tolerant? Check. Usable in ethanol? Check. (40% of the domestic crop is turned into
biofuel each year.) Gluten-free? Check. Water miser? Check. Livestock friendly? Check. Priced close to cash corn at
the port? Check.
- Food Business News
Report: USDA Says Farmers Expected to Plant More Water-efficient Crops in 2013
The land dedicated to sorghum — which tolerates drought better than other grains — will rise by 22 percent, or 566,000
hectares (1.4 million acres) over last year. It is both the largest absolute and largest relative increase of any crop for the
2013 season. The USDA expects farmers to plant a total of 3.1 million hectares (7.6 million acres) of sorghum, which is
the most since 2008. Sorghum acreage has climbed 40 percent in the last two years.
- USDA
Scientists Say Sorghum is a New Safe Grain for People With Celiac Disease
Scientists are reporting that the cereal grain sorghum is a safe food for people with celiac disease, who must avoid
wheat and certain other grains. Their study, which includes molecular evidence that sorghum lacks the proteins toxic to
people with celiac disease.
- ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
7. Franchise Farming
Business Model
■
■
■
■
■
Buying Power: lower costs
Shared Equipment: no need to buy
Distribution: various sales channels
Processing: planting, harvesting, milling, bottling...
Incubator Services: web development,social media, packaging...
Strategies
■
■
■
■
■
■
Regional expansion
Alliance with farm development programs
Financing
Education program
Employing the latest technologies
Create new distribution channels/markets
8. The Sorghum Mill
Brand/Label for eCommerce and retail efforts:
*Individual farms can still use their own brand
Potential product offerings:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Flavored Syrups
Flours
Mixes
Baked Goods
Candy
Breads
Beers
Liquors
Sport Beverages
Energy Bars
Pizza Doughs
Ice Cream Cones
Kosher for Passover
Baby Snacks
Private Label/custom
Sorghum Steak - Seitan Style
www.thesorghummill.com
10. Summary
American Sorghum is looking to take advantage of the grain of the future,
sorghum. For too many reasons, we are long overdue for a serious sorghum
effort in New York.
The marketplace is primed for a variety of sorghum based offerings.
Incentive programs with an emphasis on rural development combined with a
franchise farming business model make this the perfect venture for the
Southern Tier as well as most of America.
Additionally, the "digital/internet" presence is in its infancy and American
Sorghum has already capitalized in just a few weeks gaining market share for
'Sorghum' and 'Franchise Farming' related searches using best SEO practices
and active social media accounts. The website has already obtained
top ranking on the first page for "Sorghum Farming" on Google,
Yahoo and Bing and moving up the ranks fast for “Sorghum”
11. Summary
The first phase of American Sorghum is to secure a location for milling, storing
and distribution. Our Home Office will be a museum, a store and education
center, along with the onsite processing features.
* Similar to Bob's Red Mill, but on a smaller scale
We've received requests from farmers wishing to join the program, an inquiries
from China for large quantities of sorghum and have been found and contacted
by National Sorghum Producers.
Secured a location, now to build a mill for the flour, syrup processing and
product development.
12. Useful Links
■
Indian Sorghum Syrup Guide
http://www.nariphaltan.org/nari/pdf_files/syrup.pdf
■
Sorghum Flour Production Manual
http://intsormil.org/smscientificpubs/2012CTI%20grinder%20for%20sorghum%20flour%20manual.pdf
■
* Sorghum Study:
http://www.world-grain.com/News/News%20Home/Features/2013/7/Sorghum%20milling%20study.aspx
■
* Improvements in Sorghum Milling Technologies
http://crsps.net/wp-content/downloads/INTSORMIL/Inventoried%209.7/3-2010-5-738.pdf
■
Costs of growing sorghum for syrup ('99):
http://www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/agecon/pubs/sweetsorg.htm
■
Flour Mill Plant Design:
http://www.slideshare.net/gdwilliams/flour-milling-presentation-607
■
Mill Cost Example Reference (Large Scale)
http://2001-2009.state.gov/e/eeb/tpp/eesr/111796.htm
13. Useful Links
■
Equipment Classifieds:
http://nssppa.org/NSSPPA_Classifieds.html
■
Mill Build to Profit ('07 Australian)
http://www.organicexchange.com.au/all/fx300285.htm
■
Sorghum Overview:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/sorghum.html
■
Sorghum DryMilling: Experiments of cold, warm, hot conditioning ('77)
http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/11481/LD2668T41976W79.pdf
■
General Reference Blog:
http://flourmilltoprocess.wordpress.com/
■
General Resources:
http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/grains__oilseeds/sorghum/general_sorghum.cfm
■
More Basics:
http://northerngraingrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/SORGHUM.pdf
14. Notes
■
Compile best practices, strains to use, milling equipment information
■
Include graphs and projections
■
Funding sources
■
Education program development