Oats ,

[Will 1594]

Few simple questions , how best to grow them ,,what soil type do they like best ,etc ,got a contract to grow 50 acre for a local outfit ,

 

[Spud]

Winter or spring? Milling or feed? Any need for straw?

 

[Brisel]

@phil gets amazing yields from his.

I grow Elyann spring oats but for the last 2 years they have been feed only as drought kept the specific weight down. I think winters are more reliable.

No grass weed control options, so you need them on clean land. Plenty of broad leafed weed control options. Needs good PGR management to keep them standing yet not reduce yield through stress. Disease is no real problem. Mostly rust and mildew that are fairly cheap to control. Spring oats need pre harvest glyphosate as the straw never dies.

 

[teslacoils]

They grow well on our clay. The main factor in yields here would be tillering as our soil my not be dry enough to drill until mid to late April. All fert in seedbed. Then keep it cheap. And try to keep them stood.

 

[Will 1594]

Winter or spring? Milling or feed? Any need for straw?

Can growEither . But mostly winter It’s for seed . Straw chopped

 

[PSQ]

Make sure your contract is based on a price over the Nov wheat contract, as this year especially the market will be awash with cheap spring oats (and barley) to the point the price will be on the floor if not into double figures...

As for growing tips, there have been 2 or 3 very good extensive threads on here over the last couple of years already, the search function should bring them up.

 

[bankrupt]

a price over the Nov wheat contract,

£5 under was the best we could do., this time

 

[Bury the Trash]

Any soils will do including Acid ones.

If you can imagine how difficult it is to fall off a log ...then that about sums growing oats up.

Get them sown in good time, and go easy on the dob or use pgr

 

[KB6930]

Oats seem to grow fine in most soil's one thing to do is plenty growth regulator so they stand till harvest there was a lot of flat oats around us this summer and they're not fun to cut we learnt our lessons a good few years ago

 

[teslacoils]

Best bit of learning last year was get them cut before they all drop into the floor.

 

[lloyd]

Winter oat variety Mascani going
In here beginning of Feb hopefully.

 

[Still Farming]

Plenty of grain and straw with minimal inputs if any.
Once away ,most weeds do not compete with oats and good cleaning crop also.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Best bit of learning last year was get them cut before they all drop into the floor.

Oh yeah I forgot about that,
... when they're just about fit dont hesitate ...get them cut else if thers a delayed harvest and particularly if its wild and windy those grains will sprinkle the ground with themselves like little lemmings off a cliff...

 

[teslacoils]

Land ploughs ace after winter oats.

 

[Brisel]

Land ploughs ace after winter oats.

Might need ploughing if he’s chopping winter oat straw and expects to get winter wheat in afterwards.

 

[Spud]

Might need ploughing if he’s chopping winter oat straw and expects to get winter wheat in afterwards.

Oat straw better baled imo, otherwise massive residue and allelopathic affect on the following wheat.

 

[teslacoils]

Oat straw better baled imo, otherwise massive residue and allelopathic affect on the following wheat.

Nah get it burried. Foot tall oat stubbles after four ton crops just vanishes behind the plough. Oat straw in the swath is good as free round here. Can see us having to pay to get it taken away this summer.

 

[Spud]

Nah get it burried. Foot tall oat stubbles after four ton crops just vanishes behind the plough. Oat straw in the swath is good as free round here. Can see us having to pay to get it taken away this summer.

Do you really think so? Straw will be short this time, it can't not be, there's far less winter corn sown. Get it baled, sell it for feeding, direct drill the wheat. Done.

 

[teslacoils]

Do you really think so? Straw will be short this time, it can't not be, there's far less winter corn sown. Get it baled, sell it for feeding, direct drill the wheat. Done.

Will see. Doubt the extra few £££ an acre will compensate for the hassle of straw down a week when every man will be looking to get some decent winter crops in.

 

[rob1]

The worse thing with oat straw is getting it dry enough to bale it, we had toturn our spring oat straw three times before baling and that was with it cut dry and no rain after,cracking wheat crop after oats though