Pearl millet won't replace corn or sorghum but Andrews thinks it would be a good choice for certain situations. In eastern Nebraska, it offers a late planting or replanting option and could follow wheat if harvest is complete by July 2. South and east of Nebraska, it could be a second crop. That's important because it means it could be planted after wheat harvest. Pearl millet's feed value and performance are similar to corn's for swine and cattle.
Commercial tests show pearl millet outperforms corn or sorghum in poultry diets.
Last summer, about 20 farmers in Nebraska and nine other states planted small plots of NU's improved pearl millet. Two seed companies produced small amounts of hybrid seed for sale this year. Seed parents for those hybrids came from NU's 1998 limited release of seven pearl millet parent lines developed through IANR research. Andrews expects more farmers to grow pearl millet this year. Some of last year's growers may increase their acreage.