Oats have never been considered much of an option for finishing beef cattle, as rolled barley has always been considered the answer.

However, recent studies have suggested that this narrative may not be fully accurate, and oats may be just as good of an option as barley.

Cereals have always played a big role in determining the outlook and profitability of livestock markets due to their use as feedstuff.

However, with fluctuating prices over the last few years, alongside the fact a lot of grain fed to cattle is imported, using Irish grown oats may be the the answer to cutting costs.

Not only would the use of Irish grown oats cut cost, it would also improve sustainability while simultaneously boosting the Irish tillage sector.

Studies

Recently, two beef cattle finishing experiments were run on Teagasc's Grange facility in Co. Meath.

A group of animals was fed grass silage ad-lib alongside 4kg of dry matter (DM) per animal in the form of concentrates.

The researchers then replaced the rolled barley concentrates with rolled oats concentrates to observe the difference between the feedstuffs on the animal.

It must be noted, the animals were fed an additional ration of protein when feeding on oats.

Following observation of the animals, the researchers concluded that there was no difference in the performance of the animals when feeding on an oat-based concentrate versus a barley-based concentrate.

They said DM intake, feed efficiency, and live weight gain all held to barley concentrates.

The researchers also said the feed made no difference to the animals carcass weights, fat score or conformation at kill-out.

The researchers said despite oats having a lower level of crude protein than barely does, it makes up for it by being higher in fibre and fat, which balances out the overall feeding value.

Environmental benefit

Teagasc have said that if Irish farmers were to make the switch to feeding Irish grown oats rather than imported barley, it would have a high degree of environmental benefits.

Ireland imports more than 5 million tonnes of feed ingredients per year, with imported barley having a carbon footprint of 300–380kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) per tonne, according to Teagasc.

Meanwhile, Irish tillage farmers grow over 200,000 tonnes of oats each year, which only has a carbon footprint of 187–206kg CO₂e per tonne.