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Illinois farmer finds success growing milo

An Illinois farmer is among the winners of the 2022 National Sorghum Producers yield contest.

Allen Walters of Marshall in Clark County tells Brownfield sorghum (also known as milo or millet) isn’t grown much in Illinois since corn, soybeans and wheat compete for the ground, but he started planting it a few years ago in fields next to a park that is heavily populated with deer.

“Deer have decimated our corn crop, so we are trying something different. Me and my seed guy kept an eye on it (the milo) and the deer will go near it but won’t really walk through it or chew and destroy it.”

He says they’ve also found a good market for milo, selling it to a place in Indiana for bird seed.

“We sold it all of the combine this fall for $7.25 so it is a premium to corn and every year we have grown it, it has always been a premium price to corn.”

For the 2022 season, Walters secured first place in the state and nation in the Eastern Dryland Tillage category with a yield of 184.21 using Dekalb DKS38-16.

Walters says he has achieved 300 bushel corn and 100 bushel wheat, and his goal for the future is to hit 200 bushel per acre yields for milo.