This year sorghum acreage nationwide is expected to grow by 22 percent—gaining a bit on its top-ranked crop cousins corn and soybeans.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, much of the expansion will be in drought-stricken states like Texas and Kansas, though Virginia farmers will also add to the boost, particularly in the southeastern part of the state.

Why sorghum? It’s profitable as food for hogs. In fact, farmers are being offered price incentives to grow sorghum by Murphy-Brown LLC, the North Carolina livestock production subsidiary of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc. The company had success with similar initiatives in North Carolina, where sorghum increased from 10,000 acres in 2011 to more than 70,000 in 2012.

As a result of its initiatives in Virginia, Murphy-Brown is predicting sorghum acreage in southeastern Virginia will jump from hundreds of acres to thousands this year.

Sorghum has 95 percent of the nutritional value of corn, which for decades has been the main source of feed for Virginia livestock. For the most part, this corn has always been shipped from the Midwest. Sorghum also has greater resistance to drought.

For humans, sorghum has been a staple in Africa and India for years, and is now gaining attention here in the U.S. as a gluten-free substitute for wheat.