Thanks, Gary. Hopefully these drought conditions will not prevail, but with this recurrent risk, how do you think millets - each in its own way - can figure in new planting strategies for affected regions? I mean, we talk all the time about the benefits and adaptations of millets as crops in general terms, but would it help to outline scenarios, with specifics as far as they can be estimated in advance, bringing together on the one hand research findings that often are not integrated into systems thinking, and on the other, practical experience that is sometimes not documented or compared, in which we show how various millets can and might be used? Pearl millet and proso millet, for example, are discussed as particularly drought tolerant, but how and where and for what they are planted can vary a lot (these are, of course, different crops despite sharing the same name). Could any of these eventually replace traditional forage or grain crops in drier parts of the country? What would such a change look like across sectors? Much of this matching of research and practice would be in the realm of extension, of course, but the envisioning of possible directions in food and ag, and how resilient crops like millets might work in those, seems to be another level of analysis. This is rough, but hopefully makes some sense. Don DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Fri, Apr 25, 2025 at 6:10 PM Gary Wietgrefe via Collab < collab@lists.millets2023.space> wrote:
With drought prospects this spring and summer from Texas through western North Dakota, and cattle prices at record highs, this is the time to have ranchers plant pearl millet as options for grazing and haying. Commercial forage producers, or where winter wheat fails or is pulled off by early July, pearl millet would be an excellent second crop forage option, especially if lightly irrigated where that is an option in Nebraska and south.
To prolong fall grazing to save winter cattle and dairy feed, pearl millet can be grazed through early frosts because pearl millet does not produce prussic acid like forage sorghums do when frosted.
Local seed companies, especially local farm service cooperatives have access to several grazing, haying and chopped pearl millets through Croplan Genetics. See crop_sg25_masterchart_foragesorghum_v3.pdf <https://storwukentico03pd.blob.core.windows.net/croplanmedia/croplan/media/images/mastercharts2025/crop_sg25_masterchart_foragesorghum_v3.pdf>
On Fri, Apr 25, 2025 at 6:29 AM <collab-request@lists.millets2023.space> wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Pearl millet as "ruminant rocket fuel"? (Joni Kindwall-Moore) 2. Re: Pearl millet as "ruminant rocket fuel"? (Om Dangi)
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Message: 1 Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2025 11:49:36 -0700 From: Joni Kindwall-Moore <joni@snacktivistfoods.com> To: Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> Cc: collab@lists.millets2023.space Subject: Re: [Collab] Pearl millet as "ruminant rocket fuel"? Message-ID: <CAHVJML+h6wB7mi+=JQV+=C5eTEDmDbobnRTytQk5Y_5W56o= zw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hundred percent agree!!
On Thu, Apr 24, 2025 at 11:45?AM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
Thanks, Joni. What strikes me about what we see with regard to pearl millet in North America, as related in our 4/17 Millets Webinar, the recent research on pearl millet in breads, and this piece about this crop as forage, is that we might be looking at some significant increase inattention to this crop overall.
Lots happening with millets generally, but thinking about this one today.
Don
DO, EL, MI, US NAMA
On Thu, Apr 24, 2025 at 12:32?PM Joni Kindwall-Moore < joni@snacktivistfoods.com> wrote:
Wow, fantastic insight Don
On Thu, Apr 24, 2025 at 8:36?AM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
On the topic of pearl millet for animal forage here is a video conversation from last year on hybrid pearl millet for forage that gets deep into specifics. * "Hybrid Pearl Millet... What are you missing? Chris Leach and Jeff Jackson," 29 Mar 2024 (short version, 23:42) https://youtu.be/x8H-WTDrTQI * "Pearl Millet Full Version...making #COWCHOW" (long version, 1:21:42) https://youtu.be/tZeghVwD0Bw The phrase "ruminant rocket fuel" came up in the discussion, reflecting the nutritional profile of pearl millet as livestock forage. The parameters mentioned are high crude protein and NDSB levels (the latter apparently has to do with digestibility), in addition to the crop being able to succeed in diverse climates (when soil and air temperatures are high enough).
One of the two participants in this video, Chris Leach (whose bio or affiliation I've not been able to find) suggests, beginning at the 02:44 mark in the shorter video (9:50, long version), that decline of levels in the Oglala aquifer may lead to more use of pearl millet in dairy operations in the western US. He further suggests a pearl millet system could be a "game changer" in the next 5 years.
The other participant and evidently the host, Jay Jackson (affiliated with Croplan, a seed company owned by Land-O-Lakes, Inc.), has a high profile on YouTube, including this earlier short video on pearl millet for forage. Some readers may prefer to start with this short description before getting into either of the longer versions. "Ruminant rocket fuel: Pearl Millets might be the next answer?" 27 March 2020 (04:52) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRojP1mgWGQ
Is pearl millet poised to become more important as a forage crop in North America?
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US - +1 202-621-3911) North American Millets Alliance
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