Spring oats saw a rise in popularity this year as the wet autumn and winter led more farmers to plant cereals in the spring time and some moved to oats.
Approximately, 16,874ha of the crop were planted in 2020. This is up from approximately 7,106ha in 2019.
However, this was almost a swap with winter oats which saw approximately 16,582ha planted in 2019 and 8,165ha planted in the 2019/2020 season.
Glanbia also expanded the area in which it grows its gluten-free oats crop. The long-standing variety Barra will make up just 3% of the spring oat seed in 2021, while Husky and WPB Isabel take up the majority of the area, with new variety, KWS Nuage making its way onto the market.
KWS Nuage
KWS Nuage is the newest variety available for spring oat seed. It rates highly on relative yield with a score of 109 in both 2018 and 2019.
KWS Ocre
KWS Ocre will not be available for seed in 2021, but it was one of the varieties that AgriLand noticed at the department’s trials in Kildalton. It was noticeably shorter among the plots.
WPB Isabel
WPB Isabel is growing in popularity. In 2021, it will take up 43% of the seed. WPB Isabel had a relative yield score of 110 in 2018 and 114 in 2019.
Seed availability
The seed availability for spring oats in 2021 is outlined below.
- Husky – 53%;
- WPB Isabel – 43%;
- Barra – 3%;
- KWS Nuage – 1%.