It is my pleasure to pass on a letter of invitation to the GSA Millets Expo
(11-12 April 2025, West Lafayette, IN) from Prof. Senay Simsek, chair of
the Department of Food Science at Purdue University. This and a flyer
about the conference are attached. I also reproduce the text of Prof.
Simsek's letter below.
The webpage for the event is:
https://ag.purdue.edu/events/department/foodsci/2025/04/gsa-global-millets-…
The registration page for the event is:
https://web.cvent.com/event/3be6ea1e-4022-4f42-87fe-f7b4823183cc/regPage:55…
At least one member of NAMA is planning to attend what promises to be an
important event for networking and information sharing about millets.
Don Osborn, PhD
(East Lansing, MI, US)
North American Millets Alliance
(Text of Prof. Simsek's letter follows)
"On behalf of the Purdue University's Department of Food Science, it is our
great pleasure to invite you to the first GSA Global Millets Expo which
will be held at Purdue University on April 11-12, 2025. We are looking
forward to your attendance to present or showcase your products!
"Throughout the two-day expo, you will have the opportunity to engage with
keynote speakers who will share insights into the advantages of using
millet in global food systems as well as the use of millet as a functional
ingredient. The expo will feature an exhibition wheremany can showcase
their products and share important information about millet's applications
in food and agriculture. This event is designed to foster collaboration and
promote millet as a key player in building resilient and sustainable food
systems worldwide.
"We truly look forward to welcoming you to Purdue University for this new
event. We will discuss the role millet will play in the coming decades in
our food chain and economies.
"Thank you so much for your interest in the GSA Global Millets Expo. We are
excited to have you join us here at Purdue University in spring 2025!
"Sincerely,
Senay Simsek, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Dean's Chair in Food Science"
The complete genome (pan-genome) of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) has
been mapped by an international team of scientists led by Prof. Xianmin
Diao of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Prof. Michael
Purugganan of New York University & New York University Abu Dhabi.
This large-scale genomic analysis will assist research on this crop, from
understanding its evolution and domestication, to breeding new varieties to
help ensure food security.
Three articles describe this research, but first, the research
article itself:
Qiang He, Sha Tang, Hui Zhi, Jinfeng Chen, et al. "A graph-based genome and
pan-genome variation of the model plant Setaria." Nature Genetics 55,
1232–1242 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01423-w
The 3 descriptions:
* "NYUAD scientists: this common crop is key in food security: Teams from
three international universities, including NYU Abu Dhabi, unlock the
genome of the widely-used cereal crop," by Nadine Fares Kahil, WIRED Middle
East, 26 July 2024
https://wired.me/science/foxtail-millets-battle-for-food-security/
* "Chinese scientists decipher genome secrets of foxtail millet,"
XinhuaNet, 2023-06-09
https://english.news.cn/20230609/4cd34198a85b4d9d9e9bea6d51a1f510/c.html
* "Scientists Map Complete Genome of Millet: New knowledge of ancient grain
may enable breeding for climate change adaptation ," NYU (News Release), 8
June 2023
https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2023/june/millet-genome.ht…
The research "also constructed the first graph-based genome sequence of
*Setaria*, offering insights into genomic variation across wild and
cultivated *Setaria*." (NYU)
Foxtail millet is NAMA's #milletofthemonth in March. It is the second or
third most cultivated of the #millets worldwide, being an important staple
in parts of Asia. In North America it currently tends to be grown as a
cover crop or for forage.
Don Osborn, PhD
(East Lansing, MI, US - +1 202-621-3911)
North American Millets Alliance
Excellent discussion on U.S. food millets. Over 400,000 acres of proso
millet grain is harvested annually in the U.S. and potentially available
for use in glutin-free foods and beverages. However, until now there were
no uniform grain fungibility standards in North America to segregate human
millet from that used for bird and poultry feed, ethanol, mushroom, cover
crops, or millet use for wild bird plots. That will change.
A sixteen-page document has just been released by the North American
Millets Alliance and submitted to USDA's Agricultural Marketing Services
which will designate higher quality food grade proso millet from
farm-to-buyer-to-processor. "Ancient Proso Millet Quality Grading Standards
a Versatile Survival Grain" brochure is now available and submitted to
regulators, inspectors, farmers, buyers, and seed breeders for immediate
implementation. See (PDF) Ancient Proso Millet Quality Grading Standards
final 021825
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389547129_Ancient_Proso_Millet_Qua…>
.
Keep up this great discussion....Gary Wietgrefe
On Sun, Mar 2, 2025 at 9:19 AM <collab-request(a)lists.millets2023.space>
wrote:
> Send Collab mailing list submissions to
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>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Sourcing proso for food (Re: Little Millet Seed Curator
> Perspective) (Don Osborn)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2025 11:18:48 -0500
> From: Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org>
> To: Dipak Santra <dsantra2(a)unl.edu>
> Cc: "Brenner, David (CTR) - REE-ARS" <david.brenner(a)usda.gov>,
> "collab(a)lists.millets2023.space" <collab(a)lists.millets2023.space>
> Subject: [Collab] Sourcing proso for food (Re: Little Millet Seed
> Curator Perspective)
> Message-ID:
> <
> CA+RHibVVapk_S-bpBLma5QrZ-KNdGAQSLUx3oZX5_dsLnZKHhg(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Thank you both for your added information on little millet and barnyard
> millet.
>
> Regarding "food grade" grains, this could be a useful discussion. Are there
> not some varieties with size or flavor characteristics that might be more
> suited to food uses? "Food grade" may also be a reference to the quality of
> the grain (remember Gary's proposed proso millet grain standards).
>
> Regarding sourcing proso for food, I used to get it from bulk bins at
> stores like Whole Foods, until they stopped stocking it, or a local
> independent grocer that sadly closed last year. Now I'll buy a packaged
> brand, of which there are several containing US production (Eden Foods,
> Anthony's, Grand Teton Ancient Grains, Bob's Red Mill, Shiloh Farms, Living
> Now, and Relative Foods, to name a few), plus many more from India and
> China. (Some other companies such as Arrowhead Mills markets proso millet
> flour, but apparently not whole grains.) For examples of proso products,
> see
> https://www.pinterest.com/drdonosborn/millets-plural/proso-millet-proso/
>
> Kudos to three of the American companies that give more complete
> information than others on the identity of the "millet" in their respective
> products. In each case, they give the species name; Eden and Grand Teton
> also have alternative common names for proso - "yellow millet" & "white
> millet," respectively):
> * Eden Foods
>
> https://store.edenfoods.com/millet-organic-16-oz/?srsltid=AfmBOorL6tOIlzfn1…
> * Anthony's Goods
> https://anthonysgoods.com/products/anthonys-organic-hulled-millet
> * Grand Teton Ancient Grains
>
> https://www.ancientgrains.com/shop/millet/15-lbs-organic-millet-white-hulled
>
> Don
>
> DO, EL, MI, US
> NAMA
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 28, 2025 at 5:36?PM Dipak Santra <dsantra2(a)unl.edu> wrote:
>
> > David:
> >
> >
> >
> > I agree with you about little millet and barnyard millet. Little millet
> > porridge and barnyard millet pudding are yummy.
> >
> >
> >
> > There is not separate proso millet variety for human food. I eat the same
> > bird feed proso millet variety that I eat once a week as rice (same as
> > traditional Indian rice) or litter & lentil soup.
> >
> >
> >
> > Dipak
> >
> >
> >
> > *From: *Collab <collab-bounces(a)lists.millets2023.space> on behalf of
> > Brenner, David (CTR) - REE-ARS via Collab <
> collab(a)lists.millets2023.space>
> > *Date: *Friday, February 28, 2025 at 3:24?PM
> > *To: *Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org>
> > *Cc: *collab(a)lists.millets2023.space <collab(a)lists.millets2023.space>
> > *Subject: *Re: [Collab] Little Millet Seed Curator Perspective
> >
> > *Caution:* Non-NU Email
> >
> >
> >
> > Don,
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks for the encouragement.
> >
> >
> >
> > Little millet is fun to eat and a competitive choice for people with
> > enough money to eat whatever they want to. Barnyard millet is also very
> > edible. I have not tried a proso millet that was selected for human food
> > use and I wonder if there is a food-proso that is better than North
> > American varieties selected for high yield.
> >
> >
> >
> > I keep food millet at home in a chest freezer in the original plastic
> > packages.
> >
> >
> >
> > David Brenner
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org>
> > *Sent:* Friday, February 28, 2025 12:54 PM
> > *To:* Brenner, David (CTR) - REE-ARS <david.brenner(a)usda.gov>
> > *Cc:* collab(a)lists.millets2023.space <collab(a)lists.millets2023.space>
> > *Subject:* Re: Little Millet Seed Curator Perspective
> >
> >
> >
> > Thank you, David, for these perspectives on little millet resources at
> > your USDA station, and uses of its grain as food.
> >
> >
> >
> > Interesting to know of varieties that perform well in Iowa. (This Panicum
> > species, of course, originated further south than its close cousin,
> proso.)
> > Are you aware of any experiments with little millet elsewhere in North
> > America? (I understand that Dr. Raju Soolanayakanahally of Agriculture
> and
> > Agri-Food Canada has done some work with this millet:
> >
> https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/science/story-agricultural-science/scienti…
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/agriculture.canada.ca/en/science/story-a…
> >
> > )
> >
> >
> >
> > I should also mention that Dr. Vetriventhan Mani of ICRISAT, who
> > course was one of our webinar presenters on proso last week, also has
> done
> > significant work with little millet (mainly in India). See for example:
> >
> > * "The Big Potential of Little Millet," by Eric Hamilton, American
> Society
> > of Agronomy (via Phys.org) 12 July 2021
> > https://phys.org/news/2021-07-big-potential-millet.html
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/phys.org/news/2021-07-big-potential-mill…
> >
> >
> > * Vetriventhan M, Upadhyaya HD, Azevedo VCR, Allan V, Anitha S.
> > "Variability and trait-specific accessions for grain yield and
> nutritional
> > traits in germplasm of little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth. Ex. Roem.
> &
> > Schult.)." Crop Science. 2021; 61: 2658?2679.
> > https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20527
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20527__;!!PvXuogZ4s…
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Regarding little millet purchased in the US, I've had mixed luck. The
> > first batch worked well, cooked mainly as rice or as hot cereal mixed
> with
> > oatmeal. THe taste I compared as closer to rice than proso's "nutty"
> > flavor. The second purchase seemed a bit old and in storage (I store in
> > glass jars) started turning musty. Also got a pancake mix that used
> little
> > millet, which was good except I found it overly sweet (due to jaggery in
> > the ingredients).
> >
> >
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> >
> >
> > Don
> >
> >
> >
> > DO, EL, MI, US
> >
> > NAMA
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 1:57?PM Brenner, David (CTR) - REE-ARS <
> > david.brenner(a)usda.gov> wrote:
> >
> > Little Millet Seed Curator Perspective
> >
> >
> >
> > The US National Plant Germplasm Collection has 211 accessions of little
> > millet (Panicum sumatrense) housed at the station in Ames, Iowa. All the
> > accessions originated in India. They are widely adapted; most can mature
> > seeds here in Iowa.
> >
> >
> >
> > The observation data on the GRIN online database is mixed with the
> related
> > proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) data. *
> https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/cropdetail?type=species&id=226
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/cropdeta…
> >*
> >
> > Most of the little millet collection was grown and imaged in the field
> > here in Iowa. Images and notes are posted.
> >
> > Here is an example: *
> https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1358448
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessio…
> >*
> >
> > Examples of little millet accessions that are well adapted in Iowa.
> >
> > PI 463755 short
> >
> > *https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1358691
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessio…
> >*
> >
> > PI 463711 early
> >
> > *https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1358647
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessio…
> >*
> >
> >
> >
> > I purchase Little Millet grain at a grocery store in Des Moines, Iowa. It
> > makes a nice tabouli since the grain size is like a fine grade of bulgar
> > wheat.
> >
> >
> >
> > David Brenner
> > David.Brenner(a)USDA.GOV
> >
> >
> > Or: dbrenner(a)iastate.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > Plant Introduction Station phone
> > 515-294-6786
> >
> > Iowa State University
> >
> >
> > 716 Farm House Lane, Ames, IA 50011-1051
> >
> > USA
> >
> >
> >
> > *https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/search.aspx
> > <
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/search.a…
> >*
> > ?
> >
> > Curator of: Amaranthus, Celosia, Chenopodium, Coronilla, Dalea, Galega,
> > Melilotus, Perilla, Portulaca, Spinacia, miscellaneous Umbelliferae, and
> > the millets: Echinochloa, Panicum, and Setaria.
> >
> > Hatch Act NC7 Regional Project in the US National Plant Germplasm System
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely
> > for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this
> message
> > or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the
> law
> > and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe
> you
> > have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete
> > the email immediately.
> >
> >
>
