Today's land managers seem to have a good attitude toward multiple use land practices. So, I asked my intern Linzy Carlson to dig up some Japanese millet information, which was also reviewed by MSU Extension Cropping Specialist Dennis Cash.
Japanese millet is an exceptional wildlife plant.
It is a choice duck food and is eaten by 17 species of northeastern waterfowl. Five upland game birds and many nongame birds, such as sparrows, finches and cardinals, use the seed and vegetative parts. Rabbits and muskrats eat the leaves and seedheads. It also provides forage for deer. This plant matures in 60-90 days, longer in drier climates.