Kansas State University will host the 2016 Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America Sept. 19-21 at the Manhattan Convention Center. Nearly 200 people from across the United States and as far away as South Africa and Germany will attend the conference.

The conference promotes communication and collaboration in research and development among sorghum researchers and stakeholders in cooperation with universities, research centers, public institutions and private entities. It strives to link scientists and researchers with sorghum producers and industry representatives to help drive innovation and discovery in response to the industry's greatest challenges.

"It is an honor to host this conference in Manhattan for many of the biggest players in the sorghum industry," said Kira Everhart-Valentin, program coordinator at the Sorghum and Millet Innovation Lab at Kansas State University and conference coordinator. "Sorghum plays an important role in Kansas agriculture and beyond to produce biofuels, food products and other value-added opportunities. The Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America will move this industry forward."

The conference theme is "The New Faces of Sorghum" and will feature an industry expo, graduate student competitions, a strong lineup of research presentations, and site visits for attendees to local sorghum-related industries.

Featured presenters include Joe Cornelius, program director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, and Doug Bice, market development director with the United Sorghum Checkoff Program.

More information is available at https://www.sicna.net/ or by calling K-State Global Campus at 785-532-2495 or 1-800-432-8222.