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Oats were originally one of the most widely grown farm
crops in the Midwest. The grain was used for protein and
fiber in animal diets and the straw as bedding. Oats fit well
into the labor and livestock intense system of 1900.
As America developed so did its manufacturing,
transportation, and agricultural systems. Farms became
specialized and mechanized, with fewer and fewer draft
animals needed to work on farms, or in cities, mines, or
forests. In Minnesota, oat production was on 2,500,000 acres
in 1900, peaked in 1945 at 5,392,000, and is 300,000 acres
today. The average farm is now 356 acres and specializes: in
corn-soybeans, small grains, or forage crops, and/or a single
livestock species.
Oats are still a multiple-use crop. In addition to
animal feed and bedding, they are found in a wide variety of
breads, cereals of all types, granola bars and as a thickener
in infant foods. University of Minnesota cereal and nutrition
scientists documented how beta-glucan, found in abundance in
oat and barley fiber, lowers the risk factors for heart
disease. Oats are now widely promoted as the "most healthy"
grain.
Early U of M research led to higher yielding varieties
resistant to fungal diseases that can spread extremely fast
and destroy the crop. In 1966 oat scientists began a
cooperative research effort with Mexican breeders after stem
rust decimated that country's oat fields. After improving
Mexican varieties to incorporate rust resistance, Experiment
Station researchers began work with scientists in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay where crown rust is still a severe
problem.
Plant breeders use winter nurseries to speed variety
development. The U of M oat program has off-season plots in
New Zealand, in a site with soils and growing conditions
similar to Minnesota. For more than 50 years, the Quaker Oats
company has supported U of M international and domestic
research as well as many graduate students.
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Oats is often used as a "companion crop" to establish
alfalfa. The oat plants emerge and grow quickly, protecting
the tiny alfalfa seedlings from erosion and the drying sun
until they can survive on their own. The oats may then be
cut, chopped, and used as silage to feed livestock. Or, the
oat crop may be grown to maturity and harvested, the grain
used as livestock feed and the straw for bedding. 'Preston,'
'Starter,' and 'Pal,' were developed to serve as companion
crops.
Plant breeders working with oats, wheat, and barley
learn to work carefully with the small flowers when they
cross pollinate two parents.
'Sesqui' is the most recent oat variety and commemorates
the University of Minnesota Sesquicentennial. Oat breeding
was one of the first applied research projects at the
University, and in 1895 an improved oat variety was released
by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.
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Forage Legumes
