New oat variety could open new markets

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

A new oat variety holds the promise of opening up new markets and opportunities for Saskatchewan producers.

The oat variety, called CDC SO – I (Crop Development Centre Super Oat #1), has a nutritional profile similar to barley.

Brian Rossnagel, an oat and barley breeder at the University of Saskatchewan's Crop Development Centre, led the effort by the CDC Oat Research and Development team, and said its properties open up a wide range of new opportunities.

“The uniqueness of this particular oat variety is that it combines a more digestible hull with a higher fat content than regular varieties. What that gives us is a whole oat grain that has a feeding value for ruminants (like cattle) that is essentially equal to barley,” said Rossnagel.

That provides a number of advantages to both grain producers and the feeding industry, as oats are relatively less expensive to produce in Western Canada than barley.

However, Rossnagel said this variety also has potential to open up feed markets far from home.

“The other market that we are very hopeful for is the overseas market. Parts of Southeast Asia, particularly Japan, Korea and Taiwan, would place a high value on the digestible fibre in the oat hulls. Most of the fibre that is available to them locally is of very poor quality. Ruminant animals need a good source of digestible fibre in addition to high energy for the production of milk and meat. We hope that this material provides both fibre and energy in one package that can be fed without a lot of processing,” explained Rossnagel.

CDC SO- I has now been registered as a variety with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Pedigree seed growers began seed production in 2006, and commercial production should begin in 2009. When commercial production does begin, it will have been almost 10 years since the project began in 1999. However, that is still a much shorter process than normal: the research cycle was fast-tracked.

Rather than developing field-ready varieties for animal testing, CDC plant breeders produced prototype breeding lines that had the desired nutritional traits. That allowed the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Animal and Poultry Science to do early testing with livestock to see if the researchers were on the right track.

The project also involved a unique partnership. Super Oats Canada, a producer-researcher consortium, provided $210,000 in funding for the project, and the Saskatchewan government provided $207,000 through the Agriculture Development Fund.

“Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food and the Crop Development Centre have a long history of working together. The success of this project highlights the benefits of drawing on additional resources and direction from industry and other university departments,” said Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman.

For more information, contact:

Brian Rossnagel, Professor (CDC), Department of Plant Sciences
University of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 791-4976
E-mail: brian.rossnagel@usask.ca