When we set up the "millet of the month" calendar before 2023, one of our friends at Whole Grains Council (sorry, but I forget now if it was Caroline or Kelly) asked us to be sure sorghum was in June, to harmonize with their own grain of the month calendar. That made absolute sense, so June it has been.
I should note that the WGC grain of the month concept was an inspiration for our millet of the month - a way to spotlight specific millets that often are obscured in the crowd (unlike sorghum, which is pretty major in more than one category). It turns out that the grain of the month calendar goes back at least to 2010. "Sorghum month" This year, I did a little more digging on sorghum and the month of June, and found that over the last few years, several organizations have on and off been making their own references to sorghum in this month - often as "sorghum month" or "National Sorghum Month." These include: * United Sorghum Checkoff https://www.sorghumcheckoff.com/blog/americans-are-rediscovering-sorghum/ * National Sorghum Producers https://www.sorghumcheckoff.com/blog/americans-are-rediscovering-sorghum/ (p. 23) * U.S. Grains Council https://grains.org/photo-of-the-week-sorghum-month/ * Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom https://www.facebook.com/ksagclassroom/ (10 June 2024) * AmericanFarmer.us https://americanfarmer.us/american-farmer-news/22-june-is-sorghum-month.html (includes a video on cooking sorghum) * and others To be honest, I'd never heard of sorghum month outside of the WGC calendar, and was unaware of others' use of it.. Could there be a more organized approach to using it for publicity, and might that be more effective? Such as, at least a press release from major stakeholders? Or perhaps a common logo for the diverse organizations to use (in addition to whatever they each may have, or in lieu of creating their own theme)? Lessons? What lessons might all this have for a broader 12 month calendar? WGC has had its own logos for each of the 12 grains of the month, but it may be the only example. For NAMA and the millets of the month, it would be fairly simple to incorporate the graphic representations of various millets from the International Year of Millets (with appropriate permissions). And this is what I'll propose doing for 2025. The advantage that sorghum month (June) has across whatever calendars is that it is already known to various entities that work with sorghum and/or are located in the region of the US where it is grown. The challenge for it is to find a new angle each year, especially for people who already know the basics about it. The challenge for months devoted to millets that are less well-known or next-to-unknown is more daunting. The object is to create more awareness and interest in these diverse grains. While iteration is needed to make an impact (this is a long term project), there is no simple template to apply to each month. Each millet (or pairing) has a different story. So, maybe a cross-cutting theme or visual element could be used each year? (The current millet-of-the-month calendar is appended below the sig.) Anyway, those are some thoughts as we come to the end of June and the midpoint in 2024. Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance * Millet-of-the-Month * Jan. proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) Feb. little millet (Panicum sumatrense) & Sonoran millet (P. hirticaule) Mar. foxtail millet (Setaria italica) Apr. pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) May finger millet (Eleusine coracana) Jun. sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Jul. barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp.) Aug. fonio & raishan (Digitaria spp.) Sep. browntop & Guinea (Brachiaria spp.) Oct. kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) Nov. teff (Eragrostis tef) Dec. adlay/Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi)
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