Spring oats offer a potential low-cost option

In Farmers Weekly magazine, South-East Scotland Agronomist Ben Lowe discusses spring oats and the popularity they have seen in recent years. The article advises that spring oats have 'expanded in Scotland in recent years, helped partly by gluten-free markets'. This could be due to the resilience of the crop as well as it being generally low cost. Lowe confirms 'The beauty of spring oats is that effectively, it is a break crop and helped with take-all problems.'

Farmers Weekly goes on to give some advice to growers looking to expand into spring oats. They outline that 'growers should aim to drill around mid-March, but if conditions are bad then good establishment can still be achieved up to mid-April,' proving spring oats can handle a variety of sowing conditions. Whilst they are fairly flexible, Lowe also stresses the importance of a 'little and often' approach to chemicals.

The article, backed up by Lowe's expertise, also provides hands-on advice on how to produce the best crop. They suggest that farmers 'raise the seed rate to 190-200kg/ha this spring if conditions are cold and dry,' so those considering whether to grow spring oats will have the best tools and knowledge going forward.

The piece is an ideal read for those looking to find out more about spring oats, or farmers who already have experience growing them but who may not be getting the best results.

To view the original article, please click here.

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