Japanese millet is proving to be a useful crop in rotation for Steve Rogers at Tuckurimba who started by growing the grain for cover but found its resilience to a variety of weather conditions delivered useful yield and, at times, good prices.
But a word of warning for the unwary: The millet market can be incredibly volatile and no grower is likely to get a contract price for their product at the time of sowing.
This year's crop was planted on the first of September with the intention of getting it off the low-land paddock in three months to be followed by a crop of rain-fed rice but La Nina had other ideas in mind and will delay that harvest by a month
With 380mm of rain in crop until this week, the millet has done extraordinarily well and except for a bit of lodging which will slow down the header, it should yield in the order of 2.5 tonnes to the hectare.
By comparison, last year's spring production of millet yielded 1.5t/ha but was planted into dry soil with just 17mm of rain by December, at which time the plants actually tillered again and provided a crop from its secondary growth. By the time of harvest in February the stems were ankle deep in water yet quality in the seed heads remained uncompromised.
The year prior, when the country was all alight, millet yielded 2.5t/ha.
Seed costs in the order of 250 cents a kilogram direct drilled at the rate of 15kg/ha, to a depth of 20mm. Nutritional inputs include 100kg/ha of urea and a broadleaf spray. Total cost of the crop is about $450/ha including planting, nutrition and contract harvesting.
"It's a pretty cheap crop to grow," Mr Rogers says, noting comparisons with soybeans at $800/t and rice at $1000/t.
Millet is also tolerant of low pH soils, such as those that exist at Tuckurimba. It is also capable of handling aluminium, which becomes available to plants in acidic country.
Pest pressure this year was minimal, in spite of the great wet, with some heliothis early. However, caterpillar numbers were too few to warrant the cost of a spray.
The biggest challenge for Mr Rogers, who is primarily a rice grower, is controlling a variety of grasses in a system that is dominated by that type of crop. Fortunately millet typically outcompetes other grasses, which makes it ideal as a cover crop.
"I could use atrazine but because it leaves a residual that would knock me out of the ability to follow-on with rice," he says.
A legume rotation is necessary as a break crop which offers the chance to target grass weeds and this year he intended to plant soybeans after this crop of millet - which was drilled directly into rice stubble in the spring. However, the late harvest is now toying with his options - although a January plant of Hayman variety soybeans remains on the cards.
Autumn legume crop options are limited, given the low pH of soil and its impact on faba beans, which would make an ideal winter rotation. The heavy pug soil also tends to hold on to rain and cold.
"I really struggle to get a winter crop when planting around April-May," he says, although he has experimented with mung beans with some success and is considering lupins for livestock feed as a trial.
While growing a crop of millet is pretty straight forward, selling the grain is not and as any trader will tell you, the risk can often outweigh the reward - unless you have adequate storage and are willing to wait for a better price. At Tuckurimba, Mr Roger's farm has 800 tonnes of storage and the 120ha under crop should accumulate 250-300t.
Most millet goes to birdseed while the better end is bought for planting seed, both domestically and on the export market. Millet for human consumption is limited, partly because a diet too rich in the ancient grain can affect thyroid functions and yet as an addition to a limited western diet, millet could be a useful gluten-free grain if taken in moderation.
This year growers on the Liverpool Plains came away with a cheque for $1100 a tonne for French White variety, but the market filled quickly and the price crashed by one third just days after the sale, leaving buyers shaking their heads.
"Millet can be difficult to sell," agrees Mr Rogers. "You certainly can't get a price before you plant."
Millet can be difficult to sell. You certainly can't get a price from a buyer before you plant.
- Grower Steve Rogers
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