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ABFC2015New Orleans, LA – June 9, 2015
Sorghum: An established crop for sustainable, global production
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•Focused on sorghum
•Market-leading
hybrid seed
•Grain, forage and
sweet
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Tremendous Investment
in Sorghum R&D
– Largest sorghum breeding
program in U.S.
– Testing and launching new
hybrids faster than the industry
norm
– New products out performing
industry leaders
Pipeline initiated in 2009.
Expect many new products
in the next 2-3 years.
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Molecular Breeding and Genetics
• First tenants in the new Texas Tech Business Park
– Scientists working on molecular breeding/marker assisted breeding, plant transformations and ARPA-E project.
– Focus is on sorghum traits that:• Enhance Yield
– Protection against biotic and abiotic factors that reduce yield
• Improving quality
– Digestibility of grain, forage and biomass
– Farnesene-producing sweet sorghum
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Agriculture 70%
Energy + Industrial 19%
Municipal 11%
FAO
Water uses:Water Consumption in
Agriculture (acre feet)
2010 20502.2 B 2.4 B
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Climate models predict severe droughts
Dust Bowl
A. Dai, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate
Change, Vol 2, pp 45-65, Jan 2011
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Water is a limiting resource globally
Water export via agriculture
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International Opportunities for Sorghum
Per capita water availability
Sorghumgrowth range
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Sorghum Drought Mechanisms
Drought Tolerance
50% more stomata per in2 of leaf than corn
Stomata are smaller
Smaller leaf:root ratio than other crops
Extensive root system
Stay-Green Traits
Perfect flowers*
Drought Avoidance
Heavy wax layer (bloom) on leaves/stems
Slow/hasten maturity under stress
Motor cells at leaf midrib to facilitate leaf curling under stress
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Sugars and Feedstocks from Sorghum
• Grain Sorghum– Starch from grain
– Lignocellulose from crop residue
• Dedicated Energy Sorghum– Lignocellulosic from biomass
– Free sugars in some hybrids
• Sweet Sorghum– Free sugars in juice
– Lignocellulosic from bagasse
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• Where is the yield tipping point?
• How do economics affect the tipping point?
• World vs U.S. cropping systems– How are we going to feed the world in the
face of declining water supplies?
– Chromatin is using this approach to target markets and product development
Tipping Points for Yield and Economics
Sorghum
Corn
Growing Season Water Supply
No WaterStressed Rainfed
Limited Irrigation
Water Not Limiting
NC Kansas Rainfed
Category Corn Sorghum
Yield (bu/acre) 130 120
Price per bu 3.83 4.58
Total Revenue 497.90 549.60
Seed 93.60 18.90
Pesticides 50.01 49.30
Fertilizer 119.67 104.03
Machinery & Other
278.94 268.47
Total 542.22 440.69
Return over Costs (44.32) 108.90
Corn yield to equal sorghum returns = 170 bu/acre
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Sorghum Mitigates Grower Risk on Marginal Land
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
GrainSorghumYield,b
u/a
Corn Yield, bu/a
Sorghum Yield Advantage
Sorghum Economic Advantage Tipping point
affected by:
•Water availability
•Crop yields
•Input costs
•Crop revenue
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US water limitations are driving a shift to sorghum
10-year average corn yields
Sorghum’s Economic
Advantages
Sorghum provides an
economic advantage for
growers at corn yields less
than 140 - 100 bushels / acre.
US Sorghum acres have increased by 40% over the past 2 years
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Feedstock Supply Challenges: Role of Growers
• For energy crops or crop residue, growers are the key decision makers
• Typically have an opportunity once per year to make a crop plan• Key factors:
– Feasibility (Land / Water / Climate)– Market demand– Costs of production– Risk
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Chromatin’s Sorghum Ethanol Programs
• In 2012, EPA determined grain sorghum ethanol can be “Advanced Biofuel”
– Less water use and lower inputs = more favorable greenhouse gas profile than corn
• Improved economics for ethanol plants
• Yield and quality similar / more favorable than corn
– 2.8 gallons of ethanol per bushel
– Higher protein DDGs
– 4% oil
– Higher sugar content in stover
Chromatin’s Grain Sorghum Ethanol
Program
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New products: Increased biomass digestibility
0
100
200
300
400
500
# o
f lin
es Previous releases
2014 launches Pipeline
Enzymatic digestibility (% of Dry Matter)
30 40 50 60 70 80
Biogas production (NL CH4 / kg Tot. Solids) % Increase
Manure 134 --
Manure + Sorghum biomass 175 30%
Chromatin Hybrid 1 194 45%
Chromatin Hybrid 2 210 57%
Markets
• Feed
•Biogas
•Cellulosic Fuel
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Sorghum & Renewable Energy
• Source of sugar, starch, cellulose for
fuel, chemicals, power
• Grain ethanol qualified as Advanced Biofuel
• 4 month growing cycle
• Farmer adoption
• Infrastructure present
• Annual crop
• Market flexibility
• At commercial scale today
• Chromatin is READY!