Millet of the Month – North American Millets Alliance

A calendar for shifting the spotlight among millets

“Millet of the month” was a concept we first discussed in 2022, in the run-up to the International Year of Millets. The idea is to facilitate focus on individual millets (or complexes of millets in a single genus) – including some that are often overlooked – over the course of the year.

There have been modifications to the original list. This 2025 version is the latest and current one:

January – proso millet (a.k.a. broomcorn millet) – Panicum miliaceum
February – little millet – Panicum sumatrense
March – foxtail millet (a.k.a. Italian millet, xiaomi) – Setaria italica
April – pearl millet (a.k.a. bajra, sanyo, gere)- Pennisetum glaucum
May – finger millet (a.k.a. ragi) – Eleusine coracana
June – sorghum (a.k.a. milo, great millet, Guinea corn, jowar) – Sorghum bicolor
July – fonio & raishan (also black fonio, Polish millet & sikiya) – Digitaria spp.
August – barnyard millet (a.k.a. Japanese millet in the US) – Echinochloa spp.
September – browntop millet & Guinea millet – Brachiaria spp.
October – kodo millet – Paspalum scrobiculatum
November – teff – Eragrostis tef
December – adlay/Job’s tears – Coix lacryma-jobi

This calendar can be used variously, such as for educational purposes or for publicity.