** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SORGHUM IS CONSIDERED THE MOST PRODUCTIVE AND VERSATILE ANNUAL CROP FOR FORAGE USE WITH NUMEROUS ADVANTAGES RELATED TO MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY. DUE TO ITS HIGH BIOMASS PRODUCTIVITY POTENTIAL, LOWER COST OF PRODUCTION AND THE CAPACITY TO PROVIDE QUALITY FORAGE FOR BOTH BEEF AND DAIRY CATTLE OPERATIONS, SORGHUM HAS EMERGED AS A SUSTAINABLE OPTION FOR MANY LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS. HOWEVER, THE EXPANSION OF SORGHUM CULTIVATION TO THE NORTHERN U.S. IS LIMITED MOSTLY DUE TO SHORTER GROWING SEASONS AND LOW TEMPERATURES AT PLANTING TIME. CORN SILAGE AND ALFALFA OR GRASS HAY ARE PREDOMINANTLY USED IN THE UPPER MIDWEST U.S., DESPITE SORGHUM'S ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS. WHILE THE PROPOSED RESEARCH DOES NOT AIM TO COMPLETELY REPLACE CORN SILAGE OR HAY WITH FORAGE SORGHUM, IT IS DESIGNED TO OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE BY DEVELOPING IMPROVED SORGHUM GERMPLASM WITH HIGH BIOMASS YIELD AND NUTRITIVE VALUE THAT COULD BE PRODUCED INSTEAD OF OTHER FORAGES IN NORTHERN REGIONS WITH SANDY SOILS AND LOW ORGANIC MATTER, AND/OR DROUGHT PRONE AREAS IN THE TARGET STATES. IN ADDITION TO THE VALUE OF SORGHUM FOR SILAGE IN NORTHERN STATES, THIS CROP OFFERS A BROAD ARRAY OF PLANT TYPES AND GROWTH PATTERNS THAT CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR DIVERSE ANIMAL FARM OPERATIONS. HAY, GREEN CHOPPING, DIRECT GRAZING, OR SILAGE ARE ALL POSSIBLE HARVESTING AND FEEDING PRACTICES THAT CAN BE PERFORMED WITH THE ADEQUATE SORGHUM TYPE. SUDANGRASS SORGHUMS WILL PROVIDE HIGH BIOMASS YIELD WITH GOOD QUALITY THAT CAN BE USED FOR GRAZING, GREEN CHOPPING, OR HAY, DUE TO ITS THIN STEMS, HIGH DENSITY LEAVES, AND HIGH REGROWING CAPACITY. SORGHUM-SUDANGRASS HYBRIDS WITH PHOTOPERIOD SENSITIVITY CAN PRODUCE HIGH BIOMASS TONNAGE DURING A WIDER WINDOW OF TIME, OFFERING FARMERS FLEXIBILITY FOR THEIR ANIMAL OPERATIONS. EXTENSION GUIDELINES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN THE TARGET REGIONS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT PLANTING AND HARVESTING TIMES, PLANT DENSITY, FERTILIZER RATES, AND HARVEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (LANG, 2001; SEDIVEC ET AL., 2020). THIS VERSATILITY IN MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING PRACTICES NEEDS TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY SUPERIOR GENETICS FOR THE TARGET STATES, WHICH WILL BE IDENTIFIED IN THIS PROJECT AND MADE AVAILABLE TO STAKEHOLDERS.THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY (ISU) SORGHUM BREEDING PROGRAM IS THE NORTHERNMOST PUBLIC PROGRAM IN THE U.S. DEDICATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARENTAL LINES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FORAGE HYBRIDS WITH ADAPTATION TO SHORTER GROWING SEASONS. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO TEST AND RELEASE NEW ISU SORGHUM CULTIVARS ADAPTED TO NORTHERN LATITUDES TO PROVIDE HIGH-YIELDING HIGH-NUTRITIVE VALUE FORAGE TO BEEF AND DAIRY CATTLE OPERATIONS IN THE UPPER MIDWEST U.S. ADVANCED EXPERIMENTAL HYBRIDS FOR ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS (HAY, GREEN CHOPPING, GRAZING, AND SILAGE) WILL BE EVALUATED IN REGIONAL TRIALS COMPRISING EIGHT LOCATIONS IN IOWA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA AND WISCONSIN. ADDITIONALLY, MANAGEMENT TREATMENTS RELEVANT TO THE TARGET ENVIRONMENTS WILL BE EVALUATED TO S,ELECT THE BEST PERFORMING HYBRIDS FOR THOSE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY HIGH-YIELDING SORGHUM PARENTAL LINES AND HYBRID COMBINATIONS WITH THE BEST ADAPTATION TO IOWA, WISCONSIN, NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA, BASED ON BIOMASS YIELD AND COMPOSITION FOR DIVERSE LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS. ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR SPECIFIC REGIONS WILL BE IDENTIFIED TO IMPROVE THE PROFITABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR FARMING OPERATIONS AND ASSOCIATED COMMUNITIES. FINALLY, THE NEW SORGHUM GERMPLASM WILL BE RELEASED FOR PUBLIC USE BENEFITING NOT ONLY BEEF AND DAIRY PRODUCERS IN NORTHERN STATES BUT ALSO NUMEROUS SMALL AND MID-SIZE SEED COMPANIES THAT DO NOT HAVE PROPRIETARY SORGHUM GERMPLASM TO SUPPLY THE BEST PERFORMING FORAGE SORGHUM CULTIVARS TO THEIR CLIENTS IN THESE NORTHERN REGIONS.THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON END USERS OF THE SORGHUM GERMPLASM AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES BECAUSE: (A) BEEF AND DAIRY CATTLE OPERATIONS ARE A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE ECONOMY OF OUR TARGET STATES. (B) FORAGE SORGHUM NUTRITIVE VALUE CAN BE IMPROVED THROUGH BREEDING TO MAKE IT COMPARABLE WITH CORN FOR SILAGE. (C) THE SORGHUM SEED MARKET IS MODERATELY CONCENTRATED WITH SEVERAL MID-SIZE OR SMALL COMPANIES TESTING GERMPLASM IN A LIMITED REGION AND/OR WITH NO PROPRIETARY GENETICS. (D) SORGHUM BREEDING PROGRAMS (BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE) GENERALLY PRIORITIZE THE DEVELOPMENT OF GERMPLASM ADAPTED TO THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS BUT NOT THE UPPER MIDWEST U.S.