Further research on oats is crucial for several reasons. Increasing global demand for cereals, coupled with rising energy and fertiliser costs, directly impacts the profitability and competitiveness of UK cereal farming. The trend towards continuous wheat rotations, often a response to these challenges, leads to increased soil-borne diseases and weed problems, affecting profitability. Producers are striving to optimise overall farm returns, often cultivating crops on less fertile soils or in more marginal conditions.
Concurrently, the increased cost of nitrogen fertiliser and environmental concerns highlight the need for crops that use nitrogen more efficiently (HGCA Research review No. 63), thereby reducing the main environmental burden in arable crop production (Nemecek, 2004). For the livestock sector, the high cost of imported concentrates has created an opportunity for a high-quality, on-farm grown, and environmentally sustainable feed. Oats, with their high Actual Metabolisable Energy (AME) in grains and lower fertiliser and pesticide input during cultivation, offer a reduced environmental footprint per unit of AME delivered.
