Series intro: Across northern Tamaulipas, Mexico’s sorghum fields are drying up — and with them, the future of an industry that feeds both sides of the border.

The crisis deepened this week as farmers and transport drivers launched highway blockades across the region to protest insecurity, rising costs, and federal policies they say have left rural economies behind.

Once the state’s most profitable crop, sorghum is now caught in a perfect storm of low prices, drought, and disappearing government support.

This three-part RGV Business Journal series examines what’s at stake: how collapsing production is reshaping Mexico’s grain belt, the human toll on multigenerational farm families, and the stalled ethanol investment that could turn the crisis into an opportunity for cross-border energy growth.