One of the interesting aspects of the introduction of various millets into the agriculture of this continent, is the diverse new ways they are used, and the effect these in turn have on farming systems. In other words, growing millets may turn out to be more than just swapping in a different crop and adjusting to its season and requirements. Previously on this list, we've mentioned the unanticipated role of pearl millet - a major crop of the Sahel and dryland parts of India - in potato farming in eastern Canada. It turns out that pearl millet in rotation can suppress certain nematodes that are problems for potatoes. And it has this effect in only one rotation, as opposed to at least two seasons with other crops. (We'll have to come back to this another time.) In an entirely different context - raising beef cattle - a combination of forage sorghum and pearl millet are being tried in a winter swath grazing system in Iowa. Swath grazing involves cutting and laying forage crops in windrows for grazing during the winter./1.This is an alternative to keeping cattle indoors all winter, and bringing in feed and taking out manure during all that time. As such, it represents a significant savings in time and resources. Among the crops typically grown in the swath system are barley, oats, corn, and triticale./2 The project with forage sorghum and pearl millet has been undertaken (apparently over 5 years now) by Dr. Garland Dahlke, Iowa Beef Center and Iowa State University, with David Bruene, Beef Teaching Herd Superintendent, Iowa State University./3 /4 /5 What I found interesting from a recent podcast interview about this project that I happened on last week,/6 was that the root structures of sorghum and pearl millet held up better under the hooves of cattle than those of corn in a similar setting. This was an observation of the researchers, mentioned in the podcast (sorry, don't have a timestamp on this, but it was midway though) - basically there weren't muddy spots in the field where the cattle were grazing. So a question I have is whether this characteristic of these crops might be a significant advantage for swath grazing, in terms of removing what sounds like a downside of this system (effect of cattle's hooves on soil cover). This is beyond my ex[pertise so please pardon the quality of the explanations and reasoning. However the basic dynamic of "second order effects" of a new crop in an existing set of farming practices seems valid. A prominent example - although with a key difference - is the lower water requirement of millets, meaning less need to irrigate. The difference is that a millet might be grown in some cases precisely *because* its water needs are less, rather than that being a discovery from working with the millet crop on a farm as in the above examples. Much is made of the revolutionary potential of technology in farming (per "fourth agricultural revolution," for example/7), but could one argue that an older style revolution is happening concurrently with the spread of crops like millets to regions where they were previously unknown? Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance Notes: 1. "Swath Grazing," South Dakota State University Extension, Updated January 09, 2023 https://extension.sdstate.edu/swath-grazing 2. BaronVern S., DoceRaquel R., BasarabJohn, and DickCampbell. 2014. Swath grazing triticale and corn compared to barley and a traditional winter feeding method in central Alberta. *Canadian Journal of Plant Science*. *94*(7): 1125-1137. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjps2013-412 3. Dahlke, G. R., (2022) “Swath Grazing Forage Sorghum and Pearl Millet Observations Regarding Quality and Utilization as Winter Feed”, Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 18(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/air.12602 [NB- the actual paper, linked as PDF, carries a 2021 year] 4. "Swath grazing can help use forage, farm ground," by Jennifer Carrico, Farm Progress, 14 April 2023 https://www.farmprogress.com/livestock/swath-grazing-can-help-use-forage-far... 5. "Swath grazing, A Winter feed option," ISU Extension and Outreach - Crops Team, YouTube, 22 Sep. 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkHHYnYGe2o (53:42) 6. "Swath Grazing Sorghum-Sudangrass and Pearl Millet as an Alternative to Feeding Cows Baled Hay in the Winter," UNL BeefWatch (podcast), 9 May 2024 https://www.audacy.com/podcast/unl-beefwatch-c36d5/episodes/swath-grazing-so... or https://podcasts.apple.com/ar/podcast/swath-grazing-sorghum-sudangrass-and-p... (~37 min.) 7. David Rose and Charlotte-Anne Chivers, "The fourth agricultural revolution is coming – but who will really benefit?" The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2020 https://theconversation.com/the-fourth-agricultural-revolution-is-coming-but...