Sorghum crop on the Benacre Estate

Image: © Evelyn Simak Taken: 2 Nov 2010

Sorghum is extensively grown in India, northern China, and Africa where it is the leading cereal. Agricultural experts of the European Union are presently investigating the use of agricultural land for non-food production, such as the growth of biomass crops as a source of renewable energy and renewable sources of raw materials. One of the experimentally grown crops is sorghum (both the sweet and the fibre-producing varieties). The plant has a high net assimilation rate even under high light and water stress conditions and has the potential to produce high yields in fertile soils. The partners of the European Sorghum Network are studying the production and environmental impact of sorghum under field conditions at various sites around mainly southern Europe; investigations include low input trials and studies of soil erosion, crop rotations, and balances of water, nitrogen, carbon and organic matter. The ten partners of the European Sorghum Network are based in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Portugal and at the University of Essex in Colchester. Benacre Estate has descended in a direct line ever since 1746. Benacre Farms Company farm approximately 2300 acres of land tenanted from the Benacre Estates Company, operating a conservation policy with a close working relationship with English Nature. The farms extend from the coast in the east to Henstead in the west and from the River Hundred in the north to Potter Bridge marshes in the south. Crops grown include wheat, barley, rye, field beans, rape, hemp, sugar beet, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and asparagus.

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