LUBBOCK, TEXAS, US — The United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP) has named Adam York as its new sustainability director. York will be responsible for developing and leading the sorghum industry’s sustainability initiatives and will continually assess opportunities for investment and collaboration to increase the value of sorghum for farmers and industry stakeholders.

York is a Clark County, Kansas, US, native with a farm and ranch background and is a Kansas State University graduate with a degree in history. Prior to working in the sorghum industry, York served as senior staff for multiple members of the U.S. House of Representatives, advising on federal agricultural, environmental, and nutritional policies, among others. He returned to Kansas in 2019 to join Kansas Grain Sorghum as the organization's first program director with a focus on expanding the organization's footprint across the state.

"I am thrilled to begin this new opportunity on team sorghum to continue positioning the crop as a serious tool that confronts challenges head-on with sustainable and collaborative solutions," York said. "Working closely with producers over the past three years at Kansas Grain Sorghum and from the prior six years in Washington, D.C., I know firsthand how sorghum farmers are moving the needle to advance positive outcomes for rural and urban communities alike."

York replaces Kira Everhart-Valentin, who was the organization’s first sustainability director, pioneering the awareness campaign of sorghum in the regenerative agriculture space and putting a spotlight on the crop’s versatility and importance of why it is a reliable and responsible option for farmers and consumers alike.

“We are thrilled for Adam to join team sorghum,” said Norma Ritz Johnson, executive director of USCP. “After seeing the pathways paved and tremendous work he has put into Kansas Grain Sorghum, we have no doubt he will make incredible strides here at the Sorghum Checkoff.”