Save the date! The 11th in our monthly Millets Webinar Series, on Wednesday 15 Nov. at 5 pm EST, has as its core theme, "Not just for the birds: Millets and animal farming" (altho we will range a bit more widely). It will feature presentations by two experts, followed by Q&A:

* Dr. Robert Myers, Dir. of the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture and adjunct faculty in Plant Science and Technology Division, also at MU, who has expertise on sustainable ag and crop diversification, including many years work with several millets. In this return to the Millets Webinars, he will present on "Millets used for cover crops, songbirds, and waterfowl.”

* Gary Wietgrefe, retired agronomist, also with a long career in which he has dealt with millets both domestically, in South Dakota, and internationally. He is currently researching the less-documented degree to which millets are cultivated for purposes other than grain, and will present on "U.S. millet for forage, conservation, wildlife, and ornamental uses."

This month we are turning from our focus on millets as food, to consider the surprising range of other uses of millets in North America - on farms (for feeding animals and as cover crops), in wildlife areas, and in other settings. While the number of acres planted in millets for human consumption (mainly sorghum, proso millet, and teff) is relatively limited, several species of millets are planted in this region for other purposes on a large area. This is a testament both to the versatility of millets and the ingenuity of farmers and researchers. Could this wide and apparently extensive use facilitate future introduction of food-grade varieties of more millets into agriculture and food systems here?

If you are not already registered for the Millets Webinar Series, you may sign up here:
https://umsystem.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctduutrTgoGNLZnrkxtUw614DEjAT3SgNN