Silage Pearl millet can provide a high tonnage silage with good nutritive value. Forage sorghum produced the highest tonnage in this trial. Dryland annual forage production for silage comparing pearl millet with other annual forage crops at the NDSU-Carrington Research Extension Center. Harvesting pearl millet for silage should occur as soon as frost occurs or when heads appear. Leave a minimum of 6 to 10 inch stubble if regrowth is desired for fall grazing.
Pearl millet is known as a forage capable of producing high contents of crude protein.
Corn, forage sorghum and grain sorghums continue to provide a good alternative for planting an annual crop for silage production. However, the lower production costs of pearl millet and farm program considerations may prove it to be an alternative for silage production. Hay Pearl millet can provide excellent hay when properly cured. It is easier to cure than sorghum, sorghum-sudangrass hybrids and sudangrass. Pearl millet is more difficult to cure than the foxtail millets.