Two Kansas State University students have been awarded sorghum-specific scholarships to continue their education in programs related to the future of the sorghum industry. Both scholarships were awarded in July by the National Grain Sorghum Foundation.

Kassie Curran of Farlington, a senior food science and industry major at K-State was awarded the 2013 Sorghum Challenge Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students enrolled in an agriculturally-based degree program.

With the impact of drought on the High Plains, there has been a rising interest in sorghum and its drought tolerance.

Curran grew up on her family's farm and said that lifestyle has served as the foundation for her passion for agriculture. She will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship and will have the opportunity to attend the NSP D.C. Fly-In in 2014 to learn more about agricultural policy and regulatory agencies.

The Darrell Rosenow Memorial Scholarship was established in 2010 honors a pioneer in hybrid sorghum breeding. Rosenow had a career spanning 40 years as a sorghum plant breeder for Texas AgriLife Research. His dedication to sorghum and those that worked with the crop will be remembered through this scholarship, which is awarded to undergraduate students enrolled in agriculturally-based departments related to agronomy, plant pathology, and plant breeding with an emphasis on sorghum.

Morgan Halderson of Delphos is the 2013 recipient of the Rosenow Memorial Scholarship. Halderson is a junior agronomy major at Kansas State University.

More interest in sorghum

Interest in sorghum has grown as drought has gripped much of the High Plains in recent years and the crop is well-known for its drought tolerance.

Breeding research has also been stepped up as result of the formation of the Sorghum Checkoff to fund promotion and marketing of the crop.

Grain sorghum breeding for yield and other agronomic qualities has been stepped up as a result of the research dollars and a demand for a water-friendly grain crop.

Sorghum has also been approved as a feedstock for advanced biofuels, provided ethanol plants also engage in other earth-friendly practices such as burning biomass to generate steam.