US Farmers Turn to Africa for Drought Solutions

August 22, 2012 from Voice of America

As the worst drought in decades dries up U.S corn supplies, some are seeing the virtues of sorghum, a crop that originated in Africa. Sorghum, a cereal grass, is a minor part of the America's harvest today. But, as the climate changes, experts believe the drought-hardy crop could become more popular. VOA's Steve Baragona reports.

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2012 North American drought

The 2012-2013 North American Drought is an expansion of the 2010–2012 Southern United States drought which began in the spring of 2012, when the lack of snow in the United States caused very little meltwater to absorb into the soil. The drought includes most of the US, parts o... Explore this topic

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants, either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regi... Explore this topic

2010–2012 Southern United States drought

The 2010–2012 Southern United States drought is a severe to extreme ongoing drought plaguing the US South, including parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The wor... Explore this topic

Drought

Drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply whether surface or underground water. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem... Explore this topic

Food prices

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Corn Belt

The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States where corn has, since the 1850s, been the predominant crop, replacing the native tall grasses. By 1950, 99% of the corn was grown from hybrids. Most corn is fed to livestock, especially hogs and poultry. In recent decad... Explore this topic

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions. Cli... Explore this topic

Ethanol fuel

Ethanol fuel is ethanol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion l... Explore this topic

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers six percent of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people, it accounts for about 15% of... Explore this topic

United States

The United States of America, commonly called the United States, or America, is a federal republic consisting of fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capi... Explore this topic

Also See

2012 North American drought

Sorghum

2010–2012 Southern United States drought

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