Study Recommends Using Oats as a Cover Crop for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Acreage
Date Posted: July 18, 2007
This article is taken from the North American Millers' Association's (NAMA) July 13 issue of NAMA News.
Washington, DC--The North American Millers Association (NAMA) contracted with Informa Economics to study U.S. oat production and government programs, and to advise NAMA on the best farm bill policy approach with respect to the production of oats in the United States.
The 2006 oat production was the lowest since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) began keeping records in 1866.
The study concludes oat acreage and production trends over the past several decades reflect a sharply declining market for oats as a feed grain and modest growth in the food oats market.
Contributing factors include:
• Oat yields have grown more slowly than those of other crops.
• Government price support programs that provide high levels of support to minor oilseed and pulse crops.
• Focus on biofuels is shifting acreage to corn and soybeans.
Oats as a Cover Crop for CRP Acreage
The study recommends NAMA advocate a program that recognizes oats as a favored cover crop in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
Such a program could increase the CRP's wildlife carrying capacity, reduce the cost of the program to the federal government, and, at the same time, significantly increase the production of oats.
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