The Mill-it Project: from British fields to the kitchen

12 hours ago

4 min read

Can an ancient Indian grain find a new home in the British kitchen?

We’re putting proso millet to the test: growing it on British farms, applying NIAB science and exploring its potential in the kitchen with chef Dev Biswal.

The Cook’s Tale is part of the two-year Mill-it Project, funded by Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and Innovate UK through the ADOPT Fund. We are exploring the potential of proso millet as a sustainable UK-grown crop for human consumption.

Nonington Farms, near Canterbury in Kent, leads the project. Soya UK contributes its millet expertise, while Edworth Manor Farm carries out additional field trials.

Farmer Emma Loder-Symonds and chef Dev Biswal: growing proso millet in Kent for food, science and the future.

One project. Three questions.

GROW

Can we grow millet successfully as a British break crop?

TEST

What can NIAB tell us about millet’s nutritional potential?

EAT

Can chef Dev turn millet into food we want to eat?

Why millet?

Millet has been eaten for thousands of years, particularly across Asia and Africa. The grain is naturally gluten-free, and its nutritional potential is one of the questions this project will investigate. Proso millet’s ability to cope with hot, dry conditions makes it an interesting crop to explore as UK summers become hotter and drier.

British arable farmers have relatively few spring break crop options. Millet is already grown here on a small scale, mostly for bird seed. The Mill-it Project asks a simple question: could we grow it for people instead?

Inspiration came from India

Dev grew up in Odisha, where millets have long been part of food culture. During a culinary tour of India in 2025, he saw how these ancient grains were being brought back into everyday diets. That resurgence, and interest in crops that need less water, inspired him to ask whether millet could have a new future in the UK.

Dev took the idea to Emma, who was already supplying The Cook’s Tale with heritage wheat flour grown and milled at Nonington Farms. From that conversation, the idea for Mill-it began.

From a seed in May to harvest in September

Four months in the field: the story of the project’s first Kent crop.

15 May 2026 · Drilling

Emma drilled 5.6 hectares of proso millet at Nonington Farms, intercropping it with spring beans. Rain followed the next day. An exceptionally dry summer then gave the project an opportunity to observe how the crop coped with drought.

23 June 2026 · The project launch

Farmers, scientists and food specialists came together at Nonington Farms to launch Mill-it. Around 40 guests tasted Dev’s millet shortbread before heading into the field to see the young crop.

The Mill-it project team at the June farm launch

June–August 2026 · Growing

As Kent became increasingly dry, the millet kept growing. By mid-August it was described as a green oasis in the surrounding parched landscape—an encouraging observation to explore through the trials.

The millet crop during the summer growing season

16 September 2026 · Harvest

Before deciding to harvest, Emma checked the grain’s moisture content at Barham Lab Services. The first crop was then combined and brought into the grain store.

Emma with the harvested millet in the grain store — Four months after drilling, the first Kent-grown crop was safely in store.

What’s next?

Harvest is the beginning of the next chapter: from field trials to laboratory analysis, kitchen experiments and a closer look at soil health.

TEST · What does the science tell us?

Microscope illustrating the laboratory research stage

NIAB’s Dr Lydia Smith will investigate millet’s nutritional content and digestibility, including approaches to reducing phytic acid, which can bind micronutrients. One approach is controlled germination using micro-malting. This work will add scientific evidence to the practical experience gathered in the field.

EAT · Into Dev’s kitchen

Millet needs to be more than an interesting agricultural crop: it needs to become something people enjoy eating. Dev will explore contemporary dishes and food products, building on millet’s culinary history. His experiments already include breads, risotto and shortbread.

Chef Dev Biswal outside The Cook’s Tale Restaurant

GROW · Learning for the next season

Emma at Nonington Farms and Charlotte at Edworth Manor will assess soil health following millet cultivation. Their field records will help the team understand what worked, what did not, and what can be learned for the next growing season.

Could you be part of millet’s future?

We’d love to hear from farmers, millers, scientists, ecologists, researchers, food producers, bakers, brewers and chefs. If you have expertise, ideas, facilities, land or routes to market—or simply want to know more—please get in touch.

Contact the Mill-it team