As we close out January (too soon!) here are two items about proso millet, our millet-of-the-month for the first month of the International Year of Millets. First is a good intro article by Dryland Genetics about proso, giving some reasons why proso merits interest:: https://www.drylandgenetics.com/blog/proso-millet-the-mindful-crop The second is a short 2020 video from GRIN-U Education, Dr. Meagan Schipanski (Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins) that compares proso with pearl millet (upcoming millet-of-the-month in April). https://youtu.be/lVxnacSHLHQ Proso (Panicum mileaceum) is one of the 4 most produced millets in the world (or 5, counting sorghum). In the US and to a lesser degree Canada, it has become a notable if still minor crop for several uses, notably grain and forage. As a crop, it is attracting increasing interest among farmers in the US who are facing dryer conditions and water limitations. One challenge, however, is developing markets for the grain. Proso is one of the three millets cultivated on a commercial scale in the region for food-grade grains (along with sorghum and teff), and is the one generally labeled simply as “millet” in stores in the US & Canada. Although proso's month - January - is over, we’ll definitely be hearing more about this millet over the course of the rest of the International Year of Millets, even as we spotlight other millets. The purpose of millet-of-the-month is just to spotlight each millet in turn. Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance