The article considers grain sorghum as a valuable fodder, industrial and food crop, capable of forming high yields not only in the dry steppe zone, but also in semi-desert zones, where 200-300 mm of precipitation falls annually. The most widespread product of grain sorghum processing in countries with traditionally high grain consumption is sorghum flour. In many countries of the world, sorghum flour is used in the production of bakery and flour confectionery products (gingerbread, muffins) instead of part of wheat flour. The article presents studies on the use of grain sorghum varieties for food and feed purposes, which were carried out in 2017-2019. The object of the study were varieties of grain sorghum created in the Volga NIISS named after. P.N. Konstantinov. It is worth noting that the Povolzhsky NIISS, a branch of the SamRC RAS, has created and is introducing into production new early-ripening varieties of grain sorghum with high potential yield and grain quality - Premiera, Slavyanka, Ros, Kinelskoye 63 and Derzhavnoye. Based on the results of the literature review, modern directions for the use of local varieties bred by the Povolzhsky NIISS - a branch of the Sam Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and products of its processing in the production of bakery, flour confectionery products and in feeding farm animals have been identified.