Below is a summary of some of the topics discussed during the Oat Council's latest meetings
April 2024
The Oat Council continued to work on the development of strategic priorities. The Oat Council has initiated working groups to develop potential actions and projects associated with the development of these priorities. One of the key focus items is to develop a pathway to match oat supply with projected growth in demand.
Market intelligence information continues to show Australian oats are valued for specific quality and health traits. Demand for Australian oats is high and expected to remain high.
The Oat Council endorsed the new research-focused Oat Grain Quality Consortium (OGQC) launched recently by the Grains Research and Development Corporation. The Oat Council is looking forward to working with the OGQC to bring positive outcomes for the Australian oat industry.
October 2023
The Oat Council continued its work towards developing an ‘Oats strategic priority plan’ document similar to that already developed by the Barley Council. The Oat Council agreed to commence with focussing on addressing oat supply issues.
Given the excellent nutritional profile of oats and changing consumer nutritional habits, oats present tremendous opportunities for Australian growers. The Oat Council supports and encourages greater promotion of oats on the east coast and in Western Australia to encourage growers to grow more oats. The Council also encourages the development of agronomy packages to maximise yields and make oats more attractive to growers. It is stressed that these are preliminary ideas/discussions.
The Oat Council supports increasing industry’s promotion of new oat varieties so that they are adopted by more growers. This is to ensure end point royalties are directed towards current oat breeding programs.
Work is progressing well in formulating a new national framework for oat classification. The Oat Council received an update on preliminary findings relating to a proposed framework and the Council supported these findings. Grains Australia has established a short-term Oat Varietal Classification Steering committee for the specific purpose of examining all available information and formulating a recommendation to the Oat Council on the final framework.