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Because sorghum is a drought‐tolerant crop, it is often preferred by producers in cases of expected water stress. The objectives of this review were to summarize the water requirements, effect of water stress, and hybrid variation in drought tolerance of grain sorghum, and to suggest possible solutions that could help narrow the gap between potential and actual dryland sorghum yield. We reviewed more than 70 reports in peer‐reviewed journals, extension publications, books, and websites. Grain sorghum tolerates and avoids drought more than many other cereal crops, but the drought response of sorghum does not come without a yield loss. Water stress at the vegetative stage alone can reduce yield more than 36%, and water stress at the reproductive stage can reduce yield more than 55%. Eighty percent of sorghum production in the world is under dryland conditions. We deduced that by focusing on techniques that can improve water availability in sorghum growing season alone, we can double the current dryland sorghum yield with the existing genetic potential. Results of this review suggest the existence of genotypic variation in drought tolerance among sorghum hybrids due to possible physiological differences or vice versa. We concluded by presenting possible management options to reduce the effects of water stress in dryland conditions and suggesting possible areas of research.

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Significance Society faces the multifaceted crossroads dilemma of sustainably balancing today’s livelihood with future resource needs. Currently, agriculture is tapping the High Plains Aquifer beyond natural replenishment rates to grow irrigated crops and livestock that augment global food stocks, and science-based information is needed to guide choices. We present new methods to project trends in groundwater pumping and irrigated corn and cattle production. Although production declines are inevitable, scenario analysis substantiates the impacts of increasing near-term water savings, which would extend the usable lifetime of the aquifer, increase net production, and generate a less dramatic production decline.