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"Burgu (millet)" in Mali & beyond (Echinochloa stagina)
by Don Osborn 31 Jul '24

31 Jul '24

Here's another interesting relative of the barnyard millets: burgu or burgu millet (you may also see the French spelling, bourgou), Echinochloa stagnina. A native of Africa, I encountered it in central Mali, where it was known as a rich and productive forage grass. Like several other grass species, its seeds have been used for food. Without having studied it, I had thought that was only as a famine grain, but apparently it was a part of the diet in central Mali - specifically the inland Niger delta in that region. Burgu has the remarkable trait of being able to grow with a rising water level, attaining up to 3 meters (10 ft.) in height with its head above water. It then collapses when water levels go down. These traits made it supremely well-adapted to the annual flooding of the Niger and Bani rivers in this flat inland delta Any burgu grain harvesting would have to be by hand, and the plants' stems make great forage and can be harvested to sell at market. With changes in flood levels and land use, there was a decline in the areas where burgu grew, but some projects helped re-establish it in some areas. Burgu grows in other parts of Africa as well as in Asia, but I have no info on any uses similar to what is done in central Mali. One take-away I get from reviewing some Echinochloa species, is that they tend to have no problem with "wet feet," and in some cases need ample or abundant water for at least some of their growth cycle. For reading abou burgu: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinochloa_stagnina * https://www.feedipedia.org/node/453 * https://plantaedb.com/taxa/phylum/angiosperms/order/poales/family/poaceae/g… * https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00K697.pdf (see #10, "Bourgou") Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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Thomas A. Williams (1865-1900) of UNL, SDSU & USDA
by Don Osborn 28 Jul '24

28 Jul '24

A quick human interest story: The author of the short farmers bulletin on millets/1 cited in the first post on "ankee" millet this month - one Thomas A. WIlliams - was an agrostologist who studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and taught there and at the Agricultural College of South Dakota (now SDSU). He was later at USDA and edited the Asa Gray Bulletin./2 Following his untimely departure, research interest in "ankee" waned, and the Asa Gray Bulletin ceased publication for a number of years.. Everyone has a story, of course, and that's certainly true of the early researchers who wrote about millets. But this promising but abbreviated career - which is outlined in the obit cited below/2 - seems particularly poignant. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 1. Williams, Thomas A., "Millets," Farmers' Bulletin No. 101, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1899, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Millets_%28IA_CAT872015… 2. "Thomas A. Williams" (obituary), by Albert F. Woods, *The Asa Gray Bulletin*, Vol. 8, No. 6 (41) (JANUARY, 1901), pp. 109-114 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044106417413&seq=151

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Percentage of organic vs conventional proso millet cultivation?
by Don Osborn 28 Jul '24

28 Jul '24

Here's a question that I've had before, but which came to mind again following a brief exchange of emails with Cate Batson Baril of Rodale. They are working with the USDA "Transition to Organic Partnership Program" (TOPP),/1 and their No-TIll Farm Walk series./2 Unfortunately those programs do not seem to involve any of our focus crops (millets) at this time. So I wondered if there were any figures on who grows grain proso how? (Organic vs conventional, no-till, etc.) And then logically the same questions for grain sorghum and grain teff. Anyway, searching online for organic proso production, I didn't come up with any figures. Here, however, is a link to one farm group in eastern Colorado that is organic, and several organic proso consumer products: Organic proso farms: Golden Prairie https://goldenprairie.com/ Food grain vendors: Anthony's Goods https://anthonysgoods.com/products/anthonys-organic-hulled-millet Camas Country https://www.camascountrymill.com/shop/millet-white-proso Grain Place Foods https://grainplacefoods.com/product/organic-hulled-millet-white-proso/ Shiloh Farms https://www.shilohfarms.com/millet-grain-organic/ Sun Organic Farm https://www.sunorganicfarm.com/product/organic-millet-whole.html (unhulled proso) Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 1. https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/topp 2. https://rodaleinstitute.org/events/field-walk-series-reduced-till-organic-c…

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You know you live in South Minneapolis when
by Robin Asbell 25 Jul '24

25 Jul '24

Just a shot of the teff flour stacked at my Coop grocery store. We have a big population of Ethiopian citizens here, and restaurants that serve injera. Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [Collab] Collab Digest, Vol 30, Issue 18
by Gary Wietgrefe 23 Jul '24

23 Jul '24

Regarding the number of farmers harvesting various millet seeds in the U.S., you may be close on 100 teff, 1,000 proso, but off on sorghum which likely has over 20,000 farmers harvesting some type of sorghum (grain, forage, syrup) in 2022. Sorghum, with the largest acreages in the "millet" category may be more accurate with 13,591 farms harvesting sorghum GRAIN in 40 states in 2022, and 15,339 harvesting grain sorghum in 42 states in 2017 according to U.S. Census data. See USDA/NASS QuickStats Ad-hoc Query Tool <https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/84AA43ED-B8D7-3B6C-B9C7-E4204AF061…> . I would venture to guess there are less than 100 farms harvesting each of these millets--Japanese, browntop, and hybrid pearl for seed. There are perhaps two million acres of those last three types planted each year for various uses (grazing, forage, wildlife, cover crops being the main uses). U.S.D.A. does not collect data on these types of millet. Except for sorghum grain producers, the best documented data is for proso millet using the U.S. Census as reported by National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA every five years from 1997 to 2022. See USDA/NASS QuickStats Ad-hoc Query Tool <https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/CA44A51B-D24B-374F-ADCF-38D8766131…> . Be extremely cautious using census data for extracting proso production. The reason is that USDA will not publish total acres or production of any crop for a county when there are few producers (under 5?) in each county. For example, in the 2022 Census report there were 509,152 thousand acres of proso harvested in 21 states by 1,180 producers. However, NO!!! acres reported from South Dakota even thou NASS annual statistics shows South Dakota is the third largest state producing proso. The reason why is that proso, when it is planted, is from large acreages by few producers. Also, I find US Census data extremely haphazard, and inconsistent regarding proso collection. For example, there were 21 states reporting proso production in 2022 from 1,180 farms, 26 states in 2017 with 1,004 farms, but only 6 states in 1997 with 1,660 farms. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive survey of millet production by type and use in the U.S. and never has been....Gary Wietgrefe On Sat, Jul 20, 2024 at 8:50 AM <collab-request(a)lists.millets2023.space> wrote: > Send Collab mailing list submissions to > collab(a)lists.millets2023.space > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.millets2023.space/mailman/listinfo/collab > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > collab-request(a)lists.millets2023.space > > You can reach the person managing the list at > collab-owner(a)lists.millets2023.space > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Collab digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: National Public Radio on millets, June 8, 2023 (Don Osborn) > 2. Early history of proso millet in Europe (2022 book) (Don Osborn) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2024 10:33:19 -0400 > From: Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org> > To: "collab(a)lists.millets2023.space" <collab(a)lists.millets2023.space> > Cc: "Myers, Robert L." <myersrob(a)missouri.edu> > Subject: Re: [Collab] National Public Radio on millets, June 8, 2023 > Message-ID: > <CA+RHibWV8O_1oqLUd2iD4Qw6mtvnNO9dVtNH= > bQt2Ea1YBrtRA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Thank you, Rob, for this clarification and additional information. > > I'm wondering how many growers in the US produce seed for Japanese > (barnyard) millet, Echinochloa esculenta - for marketing for any purpose - > and how many produce seed for billion dollar grass (Indian barnyard > millet), E. frumentacea? In the absence of figures, any guesses? > > A while back, I did a back-of-napkin estimate based on some conversations, > that there might be on the order of just under 100 growers of grain teff in > the US, just under 1000 growers of proso millet, and something under 10,000 > growers of grain sorghum. More accurate numbers would be interesting and > useful, but in their absence, a reasonable set of estimates add a human > dimension to estimates of acres planted and bushels harvested. > > All the best, > > Don > > DO, EL, MI, US > NAMA > > > On Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 1:01?PM Myers, Robert L. <myersrob(a)missouri.edu> > wrote: > > > Don, > > > > > > > > I am quite familiar with Linus Rothermic and have been on his farm a few > > times, including viewing his Japanese millet fields and talking to him > > about that crop. > > > > > > > > He has worked for many years with one particular buyer on millet for many > > years who is engaged with seed sales for the wildlife seed industry. So > I > > think most of the Japanese millet seed he produces was in the past used > for > > wildlife planting such as to attract ducks. However, more recently, > > Japanese millet has been used in cover crop plantings, particularly mixes > > of cover crops, so it wouldn?t surprise me if the buyer that Linus sells > to > > is also reselling some for cover crop use. I don?t know the name of the > > buyer. > > > > > > > > Rob > > > > > > > > *From: *Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org> > > *Date: *Thursday, July 18, 2024 at 11:47?AM > > *To: *"collab(a)lists.millets2023.space" <collab(a)lists.millets2023.space> > > *Subject: *Re: National Public Radio on millets, June 8, 2023 > > > > > > > > > > > > Eva Tesfaye's very nice June 2023 Harvest Public Media / NPR piece on > > millets has just been resurfaced on AgUpdate.com's "Agri-View,"/1 so I'd > > like to revisit a question posed at that time regarding Japanese > (barnyard) > > millet./2 > > > > > > > > The article mentioned Missouri farmer Linus Rothermich's growing of > > Japanese millet (presumably Echinochloa esculenta) for grain. I had > > wondered what end use(s) the grain had. > > > > > > > > Without attempting to contact Mr. Rothermich directly, I did a little > more > > digging, and it seems that he is growing seed for planting this millet > as a > > cover crop./3 In other words, as I understand it, he sells the Japanese > > millet seed he produces to seed suppliers, which in turn sell to other > > farmers to plant as cover crops. > > > > > > > > In the previous thread on the original NPR article,/2 Dipak suggested > that > > the Japanese millet seed could in principle be dehulled and used for > human > > food. At this time, however, I have no information on commercial > production > > of any barnyard millet for human consumption in North America, but would > be > > most interested to learn of it. > > > > > > > > Don Osborn, PhD > > > > (East Lansing, MI, US) > > > > North American Millets Alliance > > > > > > > > Notes: > > > > 1. "Millets could aid in surviving climate change" by Eva Tesfaye, > Harvest > > Public Media, > > > https://agupdate.com/agriview/news/crop/millets-could-aid-in-surviving-clim… > > > > 2. You can see the old thread with the same title as this posting in > > Collab's June 2023 archive: > > https://lists.millets2023.space/pipermail/collab/2023-June/thread.html > > > > 3. "Linus Rothermich, Auxvasse, MO," National Association of Conservation > > Districts, (no date) > > https://www.nacdnet.org/soil-champs/north-central/linus-rothermich/ > > > > > > > > bcc: Rob Myers > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Jun 11, 2023 at 12:47?AM Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org> > > wrote: > > > > Thank you, David, I appreciate your sharing this. It's of course another > > version of the radio segment that aired last month on a more local scale > > (Kansas CIty, apparently): > > > > https://www.kcur.org/2023-05-17/millets-drought-climate-united-nations . > > Altho shorter, the NPR Morning Edition version captures all the main > > points. And of course it went out nationally in the US, which is great. > > > > > > > > Regarding the content of the segment, I'm particularly curious to know > > more about the Japanese millet (Echinochloa esculenta) that Linus > > Rothermich is growing - what are the markets for this grain in > > North America? I am aware of the plant's use as forage and for wildlife > in > > the US. > > > > > > > > TIA for any more info, > > > > > > > > Don > > > > > > DO, EL, MI, US > > > > NAMA > > > > > > > > bcc: Rob Myers > > > > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jun 9, 2023 at 1:18?PM Brenner, David (CTR) - REE-ARS < > > david.brenner(a)usda.gov> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > > > > > > < > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > > > > > > The United Nations declares 2023 the International Year of Millets > > < > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > > > > > > Millets, an alternative crop to corn and soybeans, is getting new > > attention in the U.S. The resilient grain could help U.S. farmers survive > > climate change. > > > > www.npr.org > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 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. > > > > >

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"Channel millet" in Australia (Echinochloa turneriana)
by Don Osborn 21 Jul '24

21 Jul '24

While on the topic of barnyard millets and their wild relatives this month, mention should be made of Echinochloa turneriana, a species native to the Australian outback that is given the name, "Channel millet." This species has attracted the attention of a research group including geneticists and archaeologists - the latter since Channel millet may have once been a food of the Mithaka people of central Australia./1 However, some earlier research (in the 1980s) on E. turneriana, which compared it with E. esculenta (formerly E. utilis) and E. frumentacea, concluded: "No compelling physiological reason was found for the domestication of Channel millet vis-à-vis other millets."/2 The name "Channel millet" comes from Channel Country, which is an eastern area of central Australia./3 The Mithaka or Mitaka are an aboriginal people of that continent, whose language is extinct./4 In any event, this is something to watch from afar. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 1. "A wild Australian grain to diversify diets," UQ [University of Queensland] News, 26 October 2023 https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2023/10/wild-australian-grain-diversify-… 2. L.T. Evans and M.G. Bush,"Growth and development of channel millet (Echinochloa turneriana) in relation to its potential as a crop plant and compared with other Echinochloa millets, rice and wheat," Field Crops Research, Vol. 12, 1985, Pages 295-317, https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-4290(85)90076-0. 3. "Channel Country," Wikipedia (accessed 21 July 2024) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Country 4. "Mitaka people," Wikipedia (accessed 21 July 2024) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitaka_people

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Re: [Collab] Collab Digest, Vol 30, Issue 11
by Gary Wietgrefe 21 Jul '24

21 Jul '24

Japanese millet seed is available for many uses (forage, grazing, cover crops, etc.)and is distributed across the U.S. A few suppliers are Deer Creek Seed Co., Windsor, WI; Albert Lea Seed Farm, Albert Lea, MN; Johnston Seed Co. Enid, OK; Renovo Seed, Brookings, SD who also distribute Teff. Fifty pound bags of Japanese millet can be ordered through Amazon and even Walmart on-line. I see no reason why a U.S. food processor that wants to try Japanese millet could not purchase significant quantities of untreated seed to perform hulling and lab tests. Secondly, in my book, How to Produce Proso Millet: A Farmer's Guide, I mentioned on page 197, "Although grown primarily in the southeastern U.S., Japanese millet has been seeded in 1989 along the banks of Oahe Reservoir on the Missouri River of South Dakota. The purpose of the seeding was for bank forage for fish and wildlife." See (2) (PDF) How to Produce Proso Millet: A Farmer's Guide (researchgate.net) <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284179184_How_to_Produce_Proso_Mil…'s_Guide> Also, I think it was 1990 that a seed company (now out of operation after the owner died) had me check a field of their Japanese millet near Miller, SD. It was about an 80 acre field intended for seed production. Considering central South Dakota's semi-arid climate, I observed Japanese millet seed production would produce more yield in areas receiving more rainfall--even eastern SD.....Gary Wietgrefe On Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 11:05 AM <collab-request(a)lists.millets2023.space> wrote: > Send Collab mailing list submissions to > collab(a)lists.millets2023.space > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.millets2023.space/mailman/listinfo/collab > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > collab-request(a)lists.millets2023.space > > You can reach the person managing the list at > collab-owner(a)lists.millets2023.space > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Collab digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: National Public Radio on millets, June 8, 2023 (Don Osborn) > 2. Re: National Public Radio on millets, June 8, 2023 > (Myers, Robert L.) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:47:20 -0400 > From: Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org> > To: "collab(a)lists.millets2023.space" <collab(a)lists.millets2023.space> > Subject: Re: [Collab] National Public Radio on millets, June 8, 2023 > Message-ID: > <CA+RHibU=rHUQkdB26_LUMGELkVrA= > moJ6XtTa-8F+ejN68zbpA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Eva Tesfaye's very nice June 2023 Harvest Public Media / NPR piece on > millets has just been resurfaced on AgUpdate.com's "Agri-View,"/1 so I'd > like to revisit a question posed at that time regarding Japanese (barnyard) > millet./2 > > The article mentioned Missouri farmer Linus Rothermich's growing of > Japanese millet (presumably Echinochloa esculenta) for grain. I had > wondered what end use(s) the grain had. > > Without attempting to contact Mr. Rothermich directly, I did a little more > digging, and it seems that he is growing seed for planting this millet as a > cover crop./3 In other words, as I understand it, he sells the Japanese > millet seed he produces to seed suppliers, which in turn sell to other > farmers to plant as cover crops. > > In the previous thread on the original NPR article,/2 Dipak suggested that > the Japanese millet seed could in principle be dehulled and used for human > food. At this time, however, I have no information on commercial production > of any barnyard millet for human consumption in North America, but would be > most interested to learn of it. > > Don Osborn, PhD > (East Lansing, MI, US) > North American Millets Alliance > > Notes: > 1. "Millets could aid in surviving climate change" by Eva Tesfaye, Harvest > Public Media, > > https://agupdate.com/agriview/news/crop/millets-could-aid-in-surviving-clim… > 2. You can see the old thread with the same title as this posting in > Collab's June 2023 archive: > https://lists.millets2023.space/pipermail/collab/2023-June/thread.html > 3. "Linus Rothermich, Auxvasse, MO," National Association of Conservation > Districts, (no date) > https://www.nacdnet.org/soil-champs/north-central/linus-rothermich/ > > bcc: Rob Myers > > > On Sun, Jun 11, 2023 at 12:47?AM Don Osborn <don(a)milletsalliance.org> > wrote: > > > Thank you, David, I appreciate your sharing this. It's of course another > > version of the radio segment that aired last month on a more local scale > > (Kansas CIty, apparently): > > https://www.kcur.org/2023-05-17/millets-drought-climate-united-nations . > > Altho shorter, the NPR Morning Edition version captures all the main > > points. And of course it went out nationally in the US, which is great. > > > > Regarding the content of the segment, I'm particularly curious to know > > more about the Japanese millet (Echinochloa esculenta) that Linus > > Rothermich is growing - what are the markets for this grain in > > North America? I am aware of the plant's use as forage and for wildlife > in > > the US. > > > > TIA for any more info, > > > > Don > > > > DO, EL, MI, US > > NAMA > > > > bcc: Rob Myers > > > > > > On Fri, Jun 9, 2023 at 1:18?PM Brenner, David (CTR) - REE-ARS < > > david.brenner(a)usda.gov> wrote: > > > >> > >> > >> > >> > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > >> > >> < > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > > > >> The United Nations declares 2023 the International Year of Millets > >> < > https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180964010/the-united-nations-declares-2023-… > > > >> Millets, an alternative crop to corn and soybeans, is getting new > >> attention in the U.S. The resilient grain could help U.S. farmers > survive > >> climate change. > >> www.npr.org > >> > >> > >> ------------------------------ > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> 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. > >> > > >

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Ankee or 'anki, a Mojave barnyard millet?
by Don Osborn 20 Jul '24

20 Jul '24

The millet-of-the-month calendar features barnyard millet(s) in July. As we know, this is a complex of wild, gathered, and cultivated species in the genus Echinochloa. While looking up some material, I came across some older discussions of this group in which there was mention of "ankee" or "ankee millet." In particular, three publications, using similar text and the same drawings, from 1899-1901 (at the time of these publications, what we now know as Echinochloa was classified as Panicum),./1/2/3 These evidently concerns an Echinochloa species, likely a variety of E. crus-galli, that is very tall and grown mostly in wetter or inundated soils. Ankee is, or was until the 1960s, grown by the Mohave / Mojave people, who use(d) the grains for food./4 The name "ankee" is evidently a borrowing from 'anki in their language./5 Further research would fill out some details, including the important matters of how and when ankee came to the area (E. crus-galli is described as a plant from Asia), and its current status. Together with the so-called Sonoran millet (Panicum hirticaule) - a species native to North America - ankee is another example of a millet being grown by Native Americans in wetland areas bordering rivers in what is now the southwest US and northwest Mexico. One should note also that the Mohave people were subjected to confinement to a reservation somewhat away from their native area (altho some apparently remained in their original home) and were subjected to assimilationist policies after 1890./6 . As always, any feedback or further information is appreciated. Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 1. Williams, Thomas A., "Millets," Farmers' Bulletin No. 101, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1988, pp. 14-15 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Millets_%28IA_CAT872015… 2. ''Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture'', USGPO, 1899, pp. 277-278 https://archive.org/details/yoa1898/page/277/mode/2up 3. Pammel, L.H., Jules Buel Weems, and Harry Foster Bain, The Grasses of Iowa, Iowa Geological Society, 1901, p. 135 https://archive.org/details/grassesofiowa01pamm/page/135/mode/1up 4. Stewart, Kenneth M. “Mohave Indian Gathering of Wild Plants.” ''Kiva'', vol. 31, no. 1, 1965, pp. 46–53. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30247560 5. Munro, Pamela, Nellie Brown, and Julie G. Crawford, "A Mojave Dictionary," UCLA Occasional Papers in Linguistics, No. 10, 1992. https://linguistics.ucla.edu/publications/opl_10.pdf 6. "Mohave people," Wikipedia (accessed 13 July 2024) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohave_people

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Early history of proso millet in Europe (2022 book)
by Don Osborn 20 Jul '24

20 Jul '24

Of possible interest: Wiebke Kirleis, Marta Dal Corso, and Dragana Filipović. eds. 2022. *Millet and What Else?: The Wider Context of the Adoption of Millet Cultivation in Europe*. Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/millet-and-what-else (open access to download or read online; for sale as paperback or hardcover) Abstract: "Broomcorn/common/proso millet (*Panicum miliaceum*) is a cereal crop that originated in East Asia and was transferred westward to Europe, where it was introduced in the mid-2nd millennium BCE, at the height of the Bronze Age. Archaeobotanists from the Collaborative Research Centre 1266, supported by many colleagues, conducted a large-scale programme of radiocarbon dating of millet grains from prehistoric Europe. They discovered that the spread of this crop on the continent happened quickly, extending far and wide. "What do we know about the (pre)history of this crop in Europe? The workshop organised by the CRC 1266 at Kiel University in 2019 encouraged the discussion on the circumstances and consequences of early broomcorn millet cultivation in Europe. This book brings together many of the workshop papers and reflects the diverse topics and research areas covered. The contributions inform us on the range of cultivated and collected plants from the time before and after the start of millet cultivation in Europe; present the cultural setting in which millet arrived; discuss possible reasons driving the acceptance of this innovation; and reconstruct possible uses of millet and the methods of its cultivation, processing and storage. Not just the plant economy, but also the animal economy is represented, since millet was and is grown for both humans and animals. Techniques used to trace millet archaeologically are continually being developed or improved, and this book describes the application of a few of them. "This broad-based compilation of papers adds another layer to the dynamic picture of the Bronze Age and the interconnected continent. It also illustrates the complexity of the research on the diffusion of agricultural innovations." DO, EL, MI, US NAMA

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Supposed downsides of millets as food
by Don Osborn 20 Jul '24

20 Jul '24

We are by now used to hearing about the advantages of the various millets as nutritious food that are easily digested, and which have added advantages for people with specialized diets (namely low GI and gluten-free). There are, however, a couple of negative issues one may come across: that millets are goitrogenic; and that they have their own forms of gluten. I'd like to air those here in the interests of wide coverage of millets' nutritional characteristics, and to elicit any relevant info from list subscribers. 1. *Goitrogenic effects?* There has been research including millets among the various foods containing compounds which interfere with iodine uptake or thyroid function. This quote from the Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition provides some context: "Goitrogens are dietary substances that interfere with thyroid metabolism and can aggravate the effect of iodine deficiency. Most goitrogens do not have a major clinical effect unless they are consumed at high levels and iodine deficiency is present." https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/g… (this page has several articles) The compounds at issue in millets (as well as in soybeans, apparently) are flavonoids, which may act to "impair thyroid peroxidase activity," ("The Latest Research and Development of Minerals in Human Nutrition") https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medi… I understand from our NAMA colleague Joni Kindwall-Moore that concerns at least one person has raised about millets in particular on this count are not widely held. 2. *Other forms of gluten?* A relative mentioned that one researcher (Peter Osborne, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnlZaMzZaSk ) proposes that all grains have some form of gluten, and that all of those may pose problems for gluten-sensitive people. For context: "Gluten is a family of storage proteins — formally known as prolamins — that are naturally found in certain grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. "Many prolamins fall under the gluten umbrella, but they’re most commonly identified by the specific grains in which they’re found. For instance, glutenins and gliadins are the prolamins in wheat, secalins are found in rye, and hordeins are found in barley." https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-gluten Dr. Osborne notes the following "forms of gluten" (i.e., prolamins) in three millets, and states that these grains plus oats, corn, and rice are "oftentimes considered to be gluten free even though technically they are not..." (at about minute 5:25 in his video): * Millet (presumably proso, but this is not stated): panicin (40% of total protein) * Sorghum: kafirin (52% of total protein) * Teff: penniseitin (11% of total protein) (The table with forms of gluten that is used by Dr. Osborne in his video can also be viewed at http://www.allergy-details.com/gluten-allergy-c/gluten-allergy-and-types-of… ) On the other hand, a nice short item on millets and allergies notes that "Panicin is the prolamine gluten protein in [proso?] millet. Because this type of gluten does not activate celiac disease, it is considered gluten-free." https://www.allergy-details.com/gluten-free-diet/gluten-free-food-gluten-fr… I'll leave this here, with the caveat that I have no expertise in these issues, and so am not in a position to evaluate claims or research findings relating to them. I look forward to others' comments. Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance

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