Canada's Oat Industry: Dominating Global Exports and Supplying Premium Markets

In 2022, oats ranked as the 905th most traded product globally, underscoring their niche yet significant role in international trade. Leading the market, Canada exported oats worth $464 million, followed by Australia ($182 million), the United Kingdom ($78.2 million), Sweden ($76.9 million), and Finland ($64 million). Canada’s oat exports were predominantly directed to the United States ($442 million), with smaller markets in China ($6.41 million), Japan ($5.29 million), South Korea ($4.94 million), and Peru ($2.17 million).

Canada, the world's largest exporter of high-quality oats, annually produces about four million tonnes, with Saskatchewan alone contributing over 50% of this output. This robust production supports three primary markets: milling oats for human consumption, performance oats for high-end horse feed, and high-yielding feed oat varieties for livestock.

Despite the diversification into premium markets, a significant portion of Canadian oats remains within the domestic feed market. These oats are primarily produced and consumed on farms, with a small fraction entering the Canadian racehorse market. The North American feed market significantly influences oat prices, especially in years of abundant supply.

Performance oats, or "pony oats," represent the pinnacle of oat production quality. These oats, destined for premium horse feed markets, must meet stringent buyer specifications, typically aligning with the No. 1 grade standards of the Canadian Grain Commission. These specifications include plumpness, bright color, and heavy test weight.

Performance oats are usually shipped in bulk or bagged form. The bagged oats undergo double re-cleaning and clipping processes to enhance bushel weight, generating by-products such as weed seeds, dust, and small oats. These by-products are also marketed, demonstrating the industry's comprehensive utilization of oat harvests.

Canada’s dominance in the oat export market reflects its commitment to quality and diverse applications, from human consumption to specialized animal feeds. This versatility, coupled with substantial production capacity, positions Canada as a critical player in meeting global oat demand.
Canada's Oat Industry: Dominating Global Exports and Supplying Premium Markets

Oats for animal feed

Canada, the USA, Russian Federation, China, Finland and Poland represent the top six countries for world oat production. Although demand has increased for oats as a human food, the largest portion of the United States oat crop is still used as livestock feed.

Oats have a unique nutritional value, particularly for animals which require feed having a relatively high level of good quality protein, but with lower energy content.

The level of protein in oats groats is higher than that in other cereals; moreover, the quality of oat protein, particularly the amino acid balance, surpasses that of the protein of other cereals.

Between 50% and 90% of the world oat production is used as animal feed for horses, cattle and sheep. Oats have been a preferred feed for animals such as horses and breeder show cattle which must be kept in good condition for a long period of time. Most horse owners prefer oats over other grains because their bulky hulls produce a loose mass that is easily digested.

For feeding to animals, oats are first ground or rolled. Rolled oats can provide 10% of the feed for calves, and is a good starter feed for pigs, although too expensive for other pigs.
Oats for animal feed

Oats production in Canada

Oats have a long and uncertain pedigree, being known since early historical times, for example to the ancient Greeks. Oats are grown in approximately 23 countries around the world. These are concentrated mainly in the northern hemisphere, but also in Australia and Argentina in the southern hemisphere.

Canada is the largest global oats exporter and has one of the largest oat-milling industries in the world, accounting for 15% of total global production and roughly 60% of global exports.

Oats are well suited for production under marginal environments (such as cool climates and soil with limiting nutrients) in comparison to other cereal crops. Western Canada is suited for oat production as many oat varieties flower and mature quickly in the short season conditions.

Production has increase in Manitoba and Saskatchewan since 1995. Both provinces have a closer proximity to the Midwestern US milling market.

The oats markets of Canada and the United States are more closely integrated than the markets of most other commodities.
Oats production in Canada

Postharvest of oats grain

After harvest, oats are generally marketed through local and /or terminal elevators except that which is used on farm.

A large portion of the oat crop is used in livestock feed. This grain may be pulled out of the marketing channel at any point. A high-yielding, quality oat crops needs careful postharvest handling and storage to ensure or improve its milling and nutritional quality.

Humidity and temperature are the main factors influencing the biological activity of the grain nd the interaction of microorganism and animal organisms with the stored grain.

Seed of oats is usually dry (10-12% moisture content) at harvest time of the grain moisture content is high at harvest, the seeds must be dried to a safe moisture level (below 13.5 %( to avoid biodeterioration).

In the tropical countries, sun drying is a common practice for small quantities of produce. Mechanical drying is essential in large-scale production to avoid seed losses due to birds, rodents and unexpected rains and to ensure uniform drying of seeds.

The seed of oats must be cleaned, treated and bagged immediately after threshing and drying to maintain their high quality. The cleaning of oats begins with a weighing scale, followed by magnet for removal of any ferrous metal or its alloy from the oat stream.

A grain separator or classifier is used next, with an air-recycling aspiration system attached. This would help remove larger, finer and lighter foreign material form oats.

Grading function can be accomplished using drum graders which make separations on the basis of width. In the older oat processing plants grading is also carried out using a grading sifter with a various screen sizes to sort small, medium and large oats.
Postharvest of oats grain

Oats grading

Once the bulk of foreign material is removed, the next step is to grade the oats on the basis of size into large, medium and short oats.

The machine include disk and indented cylinder separators that perform length separation of particles, a width sizer that separates grains when their length is the same but the width is different, a gravity separator that separates impurities that have a different specific gravity than oats and a paddy separator which is used to separate materials of nearly equal size, shape and specific gravity but with a different surface texture.

Oats shall be divided into five classes as follows:
Class I, White Oats,
Class II, Red Oats
Class II, Gray Oats
Class IV, Black Oats
Class V, Mixed Oats

Various grade designations are given for all classes of oats.

Optimization of hulling efficiency is attained when oats are sorted out by size and sent to their respective hullers where the speed and load on the huller have been adjusted to suit the specific size of the oats.
Oats grading

Growing oats

Oats will produce a pretty good crop almost anywhere on any soil.  They yield best, however, in moderately fertile, well drained, moisture –retentive soil.

Oats are second only to rye in their ability to survive in poor soils. Oats can be suitable as a pioneer crop, the first crop sown after breaking in new land. It is best after a root crop and not after another cereal especially rye. Oats is cultivated in larger areas in Russia, Canada, United States of America, Ukraine, Poland, Australia, etc.

It is usually grown for a double harvest of both grain and straw: a farmer can feed their livestock the straw and themselves the grain. Oats have traditionally been used to feed horses and cattle, but the global use of oats as feed has been steadily declining, whereas its food use is on the rise.

Oats require relatively lower amount of thermal heat units to mature. Oat production is pronounced between 35 – 65 ° N latitude. Oat is mostly sown in spring, but autumn planting is in vogue in hilly tracts.

Oats are ready to harvest when the grain changes from green to cream.
Growing oats

Oats in Kansas

Oats in Kansas
The Northern and Central Plains contribute significantly to oat production, making up almost one quarter (23.5 million bu in year 2002 and 48.0 million bu in year 2003) of the total U. S. production.

North Dakota led this region in oat production during 2002 and 2003, contributing 12.6 million bu in 2002 and 21.2 million bu in 2003, followed by SD, NE, and KS. Pesticides play a significant role against pests in oat production in the region.
Oats is a significant crop in the Northern and Central Plains, especially in North Dakota. It can produce high quality forage, be used as a feed grain, and can be used for human consumption in hot and ready-to-eat cereals and granola bars. Oats also are planted as a companion crop for establishment of various grasses and legumes.

Oats can grow on many soil types, however, medium-textured soils, with good water-holding capacity are preferred over light or poorly drained soils. Spring oats are well adapted to cool and adequate moisture conditions of this region. Seeds generally germinate at 44-45 °F. Spring oats are planted in late February through April across the Northern and Central Plains.

Spring oats is drilled in shallow or no-tillage planting system. Seeds are planted at 3/4 to 1/2 inches deep, depending on soil texture, moisture conditions, and condition of the seedbed. Generally, row spacing ranges from 6-8" wide, but 10-14" is used in the western areas of the region. Oat seeding rates range from 32 to 96 lb/a.

Generally, only certified seed for quality and purity are planted. Seeds are usually treated with fungicide against various seedling diseases and smut. Spring oats are grown in rotation with row crops such as corn, soybean, sorghum, and sunflower to control weeds, insects, and diseases.

Frequently, it is planted between a fall-harvest crop and wheat that is to be planted the next fall. It is essential to harvest oats at the proper stages. Oat for forage should be harvested from the boot to early milk stage. Best silage is produced when oats are harvested at the late-milk to late-dough stages. Oats are harvested for grain when kernels reach 15% moisture.
Oats in Kansas