Grow grain sorghum, pearl millet and fall-sown winter wheat as dry-farmed staple grains: sorghum goes dormant in drought and resumes growth when rain returns, millet tolerates heat and poor soil, and winter wheat is planted in the fall to finish before the summer drought. The carrier guide puts sorghum at 30-60 bushels per acre in semi-arid conditions, which is about 762-1,524 kilograms per acre at 56 pounds a bushel. Keep livestock off young or drought-stressed sorghum, which can contain cyanide-releasing compounds.
Sorghum, millet and winter wheat are dry-farmed staple grains that survive or avoid drought by dormancy, heat tolerance or an early finish.
Three Grains, Three Strategies
The carrier guide (Drought Resilience & Water-Efficient Agriculture) describes:
- Grain sorghum — “the most drought-tolerant cereal grain”; goes dormant in drought and resumes when rain returns; 30-60 bushels per acre in semi-arid conditions.
- Pearl millet — tolerates extreme heat and poor soil; staple of the Sahel.
- Dry-land wheat (winter varieties) — planted in fall, overwinters, harvested in early summer before peak drought; deep roots reach stored winter moisture.
- Amaranth — drought-tolerant, high-protein; also edible greens.
The carrier’s yield for sorghum is a rounded range; actual yields depend on soil, rainfall and variety.
Worked Example: Sorghum Yield In Mass
A US bushel of grain sorghum is a standard 56 lb (from the US grain trade standards). 30 bushels × 56 lb = 1,680 lb; 60 × 56 = 3,360 lb. At 0.4536 kg/lb: 1,680 × 0.4536 = 762 kg and 3,360 × 0.4536 = 1,524 kg per acre, which is 1,883-3,766 kg per hectare (multiply by 2.471 acres per hectare).
What You Need
- Seed suited to your climate and day length, preferably local.
- A well-prepared seedbed with weeds controlled; the crop is slow in its early weeks.
- Threshing and winnowing equipment (Grain Seeds).
- Storage that is dry and rodent-proof.
Method
Step 1: Sow sorghum and millet when the soil is warm, after the frost danger, and space widely (Wide Spacing for Root Competition).
Step 2: Sow winter wheat in the fall, early enough to establish before the cold, in the rain-fed season.
Step 3: Weed early. Slow starters lose to weeds.
Step 4: Harvest when the grain is hard and dry, thresh, winnow and dry further before storage.
Step 5: Keep the fallow covered. Some dry-farming systems rest land bare for a season to store water; bare soil erodes in wind and rain, so keep residue on the surface.
Common Mistakes
- Planting sorghum into cold soil — it germinates and grows poorly.
- Counting on millet in cold or wet climates — it is a hot-dry crop.
- Leaving fallow bare — wind and rain take the soil.
Safety
Young or stressed sorghum can poison livestock
Sorghum forage, especially young regrowth, drought-stressed or frost-damaged plants, can release hydrogen cyanide when eaten. Do not graze animals on young sorghum, and wait until plants are well grown and have recovered from stress. Grain, once ripe, threshed and cooked, is the human food.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Legumes: Tepary Beans, Cowpeas — the partner crop
- Combine with: Caloric Budget for a Community — what grain contributes