Fodder oats: an overview.

Abstract

Oats in a global context Growing and production trends Oats rank around sixth in the world cereal production statistics following wheat, maize rice, barley and sorghum. Oat grain has always been an important form of livestock feed. They are a good source of protein, fibre, and minerals but world oat grain declined as farm mechanisation increased between 1930 to 1950. Oats remain an important grain crop for people in marginal ecologies throughout the developing world, and in developed economies for specialist uses. In many parts of the world oats are grown for use as grain as well as for forage and fodder, straw for bedding, hay, haylage, silage and chaff. Livestock grain feed is still the primary use of oat crops, accounting for an average of around 74 % of the world’s total usage in 1991 to 1992 (Welch 1995). Oats are better adapted to variable soil types and can perform better on acid soils than other small grain cereals crops. They are mostly grown in cool moist climates and they can be sensitive to hot, dry weather from head emergence through to maturity. For these reasons, world oat production is generally concentrated between latitudes 35 – 65°N, including Finland and Norway, and 20 to 46°S. Most of the world’s production comes from spring sown cultivars, but autumn sowing is practised along the higher altitude regions, including the Himalayan Hindu Kush range and in regions where summers are hot and dry. Where winters are severe, such as in Scandinavia, northern states of the US, Canada, and higher altitude regions in the tropics, short season to mid maturing oat cultivars are generally sown. In regions with temperate climates, oats are variously spring, winter and/or autumn sown depending on regional climatic conditions, crop rotation requirements, end use and other farming practices. In warmer regions, spring type oats can are sown in autumn to avoid summer heat and drought.