32 



BULLETIN 1244, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



MILLETS. 



Millets are grown to some extent in nearly all parts of the region, 

 but they can not be classed with the major forage crops. They 

 evade drought because of their short growing season and make a 

 hay of good quality although apparently less palatable to livestock 

 than most forage crops common to this section (fig. 13). 



At Kedfleld the average yield runs from 2\ to nearly 3 tons per 

 acre of field-cured hay. There has been little difference in the 

 yields of Kursk, Gold Mine, and Siberian. Common millet has 

 given the lowest average yields. At Ardmore and Mandan the 

 yields are very similar and range from about \\ to 2 tons per acre. 



Fig. 13.— A field of millet at Redfield, S. Dak. Millet is one of the best-known annual forage 

 crops in the northern Great Plains. The introduction of better varieties has increased its 

 popularity appreciably. 



Here, again, the yields of Kursk, Gold Mine, and Siberian are almost 

 identical, and common millet is at the bottom of the list. 



The average of yield at Hettinger has been a little less than at 

 Mandan. At Sheridan only three varieties have been tested, all of 

 which have yielded a little more than a ton, and Kursk has so far been 

 the best. The average at Havre for six years is only about one-half 

 ton per acre, partly owing to the fact that the crop was a failure in 

 three of the years in which it was tested. At Moccasin and 

 Dickinson the average yield is a little better than 1 ton. In 1917 

 the yield at Moccasin was less than half a ton; in 1920 there was a 

 complete failure, and in 1921 a frost killed the crop before it was 

 ready to be harvested. 



Table 10 shows the results of millet tests that have been conducted 

 at the various stations. 



