In order to ensure a steady supply of crops to meet the growing demand for oats, the world's first oat growing guide was released on June 12 in the UK.
A guide that will be available to all UK oat producers will help farmers track the growth and development of their crops.
The recommendations are aimed at encouraging farmers to increase efficiency and increase oat yield. And this is especially important, given that existing studies have identified a gap of 4 tons per hectare between the average farm yield achieved in the UK and the optimal crop yield.
The manual provides an analysis of 120 commercial yields and 60 control yields for four different seasons, totaling more than a million point data.
This is the culmination of a five-year research project launched by PepsiCo, owner of Quaker Oats, co-sponsored by Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The Guide to Oat Growth aims to increase crop yields by 5-10%, which means increasing the amount of oats per hectare while optimizing resources and is a significant contribution to creating a more sustainable food system for both producers and consumers of oats.