Thank you, Gary. I concur with Joni's assessment of your informative email, and also your prognostication about 2024. We should be putting such information and links as you shared about proso in a ready-to-reference set of webpages. Kind of a meta-reference to data and analysis by others. (This is on NAMA's full agenda.) One quick remark concerning USDA's "Millet Explorer." It is not clear which of the various species we're treating as millets are covered in this data. However, it is clear that at least 3 or 4 crops, and perhaps more, are collapsed under the category of "millet." That may be a function of how data is collected in the various countries, but it all points in my thinking to a need for more specificity. The selection of millets most grown in China, for example, is not the same as that in the US, and the West African Sahel and East Africa are also different. And India has 8 or 9 figuring prominently in annual production. I did not see such improvement of data collection and reporting on the agenda of the International Year of Millets, but it probably should be a goal moving forward. (FAO would seem best placed to promote such evolution.) All the best, Don DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 7:32 PM Joni Kindwall-Moore < joni@snacktivistfoods.com> wrote:
This is very insightful Gary, as usual, your content is very well thought out and reflects your experience. thanks
On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 11:29 AM Gary Wietgrefe via Collab < collab@lists.millets2023.space> wrote:
With NAMA, there has never been a better opportunity for the U.S. millet future, especially proso. NAMA is best positioned to promote all North American millets based on their multi-million acre base, climate resilience, food quality, and international acceptance.
A fundamental economics rule is that market growth slows as prices increase. Alternatively, as price decreases opportunities increase by finding new users at their initial price point. Once a market is established, barriers to exit drives prices up.
Without promotional budget or government interference, proso production, use, and exports have fluctuated for the last half-century based on that economic rule. As markets developed, caged and wild birdseed packagers have been forced by consumers to put white proso into mixes.
Another example is black oil-seed sunflowers as birdseed. In 1978 only confection sunflower seed was used in birdseed mixes. Those confection seeds were too large for most caged birds and low-quality confections were discarded at low prices into the wild bird mixes. Working for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, I introduced black oil sunflower seed as wild birdseed. It took off! Black oilseed sunflower farm prices have ranged from under 10-cents/lb to 40-cents/lb only because birdseed market demand sets the price. South Dakota follows North Dakota in sunflower production. North Dakota black oilseed sunflowers primarily are crushed for oil. Nearly all South Dakota black oilseed sunflowers go into the birdseed market. In fact, the largest SD grain elevator quotes daily black oilseed sunflowers only as "Birdseed." See Oahe Grain Corporation <http://www.oahegraincorp.com/>. Market demand drives price!
For a brief U.S. proso economics lesson, review one minute segment (2:20-3:20) of this "Proso Millet Pricing" YouTube video https://youtu.be/pVQclIw5Rbw?si=UMNZg6Ne1RSEkQWp.
Two other items: 1.) USDA's December 2023 World Millet Production is available at Millet Explorer (usda.gov) <https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/cropview/commodityView.aspx?cropid=0459100&sel_year=2023&rankby=Production> .
2.) U.S. Census data is only out through Oct. 2023, but with current proso supplies, it would not surprise me if 2024 U.S. millet exports do not exceed 2019 (at 129,286,000 lbs.). In the last five years, as expected, U.S. millet exports have decreased as prices increased. See https://usatrade.census.gov/data/Perspective60/View/dispview.aspx.
Again, 2024 should be a very dynamic millet year....Gary Wietgrefe
On Thu, Jan 4, 2024 at 5:06 AM <collab-request@lists.millets2023.space> wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: "Year of Millets: Farmers willing, but market needs to develop" (Joni Kindwall-Moore)
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Message: 1 Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2024 22:04:17 -0800 From: Joni Kindwall-Moore <joni@snacktivistfoods.com> To: Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> Cc: collab@lists.millets2023.space Subject: Re: [Collab] "Year of Millets: Farmers willing, but market needs to develop" Message-ID: < CAHVJMLJrcz3s3QPNBWif-beNHvBcknd9tqCfo4CrgcLbN-gsdQ@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Thanks Don, I am always appreciative of the share. We must focus on the markets, go to market partners, processing, and education. Awareness with influencers, chefs, buyers, and consumers is critical for the adoption of underutilized crops and for the markets to gain any traction. Unfortunately, the Proso millet market had more growers this year but then without any market development, it was harmful to the economics for the farmers unfortunately. We will keep working but there are so few people working on this critical side of the equation and almost no financial support so it remains very difficult. Warm regards, Joni
On Sun, Dec 31, 2023 at 8:44?AM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
Here's a recent article on the potential for proso millet in the Pacific Northwest, which includes thoughts from NAMA co-founder Joni Kindwall-Moore on the potential of this crop in general:
"Year of Millets: Farmers willing, but market needs to develop," by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press (Salem, OR), 26 Dec. 2023
https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/grains/year-of-millets-farmers-willi...
I hope Joni won't mind my copying her additional comments on posting
this
article to LinkedIn:
"Thank you Matthew Weaver at the Capital Press for doing a follow-up on the work we have been doing to develop our domestic Millets (including Sorghum) industry.
"We have made strides this year in pushing for education and promotion thanks to the United Nations/FAO Year of Millets and several domestic organizations like the North American Millets Alliance (NAMA), the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, and Nate Blum's visionary work at Sorghum United.
"Hundreds of conversations with farmers have left me feeling confident that there is a major yearning to plant more climate-resilient crops like millets to diversify their rotations and transition to crops that require less water, fewer chemical inputs and positively impact soil health.
"We can not fuel regeneration without the diversification of crops. But this requires diversification of markets.
"Unfortunately, the markets are not developing as fast as we need them to for a variety of reasons. Several factors persist that are hampering the development of market segments that support crop diversity and the adoption of millets.
"First and foremost, I will say that I am personally extremely disappointed at the lack of interest in crop diversity and climate-resilient crops in general from leaders in the Natural Products industry. We tried to raise awareness and put millets on the topics of conversations at events like Expo West and in buyer groups at leading retailers like Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market but they were stubbornly unreceptive to the topic.
"Interestingly enough, the 3 retailers who wanted to hear about millets and the potential role they play in the food system of the future were Walmart, The GIANT Company and Market of Choice. I am so appreciative of their willingness to lean in, take responsibility, and truly understand the pivotal role that retailers will play in shaping the food system of the future.
"They invited the conversations, they wanted to learn. I applaud them!
"While very positive conversations continue, I refuse to just sit here and watch other nations lead the transformation toward a climate-resilient food system, the sluggish adoption of the US markets is truly a shame.
"We will keep pushing these initiatives domestically because of the critical role that climate-resilient crops play in the future of our food system." (Joni Kindwall-Moore at
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joni-kindwall-moore-57a81014_year-of-millets-...
)
Don
DO, EL, MI, US NAMA
bcc: Matthew Weaver
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