Today, poultry represents the biggest source of meat-based protein in Egypt. Capitalising on this market, the United Sorghum Checkoff Program in conjunction with USGC is sponsoring two feed trials in the country to demonstrate the value of US sorghum in broiler diets.

One of the trials will be conducted under field conditions at the Dakahlia Poultry Company, where grain sorghum will be incorporated to replace 0, 25, 50 and 100 per cent of the corn used in the formulas. The second trial will be conducted at the Regional Center for Food and Feed and will incorporate grain sorghum to replace 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent of the corn in the formulas.

Dr Park Waldroup, professor of poultry nutrition at the University of Arkansas, will formulate the diets and supervise the experimental design of the studies.

He said: "We hope to show that using proper nutritional values for low-tannin grain sorghums can be a useful alternative for a part of, or even the entire, grain portion of broiler diets."

Grain sorghum has been used in the US poultry industry for many years, and Dr Waldroup said the Council hopes this trial will demonstrate to the Egyptian poultry industry its value as a grain source. The trials will last six weeks with results expected to be shared in early spring of 2011.