Human Consumption

• The use of millet for human consumption is the most common one. Pearl millet is a good source of nutrition for people. When cooked, it has the same texture as brown rice, and when ground, it can replace up to ¼ of the wheat flour required in a recipe. Its use as a food source for people is more common in various Asian countries and Africa.
  
  Pearl millet is gluten free. This makes it a useful source of nutrition for people suffering from gluten intolerance.
  
  

Livestock Feed

• Millet as food for livestock is the other main use for pearl millet. Farmers use millet as a grazing crop and a hay crop as well as a livestock feed ingredient for such animals as cows, pigs, ducks and chickens. When fed to cows and pigs, pearl millet must be milled first. Pearl millet can be used as a substitute for corn as a livestock feed ingredient, on a one to one ratio, and the amount of accessible energy that comes from eating pearl millet is similar to corn.
  
  In places such as North America, China, South America and Australia pearl millet is not a common food for people. Instead, these places make use of pearl millet this way more than as a people food.
  
  

Birdseed

• Pearl millet attracts birds such as the dove and quail as well as songbirds. This makes pearl millet useful for attracting such birds to your yard for bird watching.
  
  

Consideration

• Pearl millet is drought resistant. This means that it can be grown in places where the weather often has dry spells that keep other crops from growing as well.