Oat
Millers, Growers and
Researchers Lobby Congress
for Oat Research Funding
CONTACT: Jim
Bair, NAMA Vice President
202.484.2200, ext.107
jbair@namamillers.org
Washington, DC - February 17,
2004 - A team of oat millers, growers, and
researchers from throughout the U.S. were hosted by
the North American Millers' Association (NAMA) in
Washington, DC February 10 -11 in a joint effort to
advocate increased federal funding for oat research.
"It was a great opportunity to advocate for our
company and the oat industry," stated Rick Cole,
General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, MN.
Three NAMA teams participated in this yearly lobbying
effort. They visited the offices of 12 Senators and
27 Representatives. Their message was simple: Basic
research in oats has not kept pace with research in
other crops. As a consequence, oat production has
become less economically viable relative to other
production options.
In 2003, the 145 million bushels of oats produced in
the U.S. contributed to the production of more than
$2.5 billion in food, feed, cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals, sweeteners and industrial products
generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax
income. Despite the steady decline in oat production
in this country, the food use of oats has been
growing at about 5% per year due to the unique
nutritional benefits provided by oat products for
human food.
Continued investment by the federal government in
strong oat research programs is required to keep the
U.S. at the forefront in the development and
implementation of new technologies to improve oat
productivity and quality. No private commercial oat
breeding programs exist in the U.S., so oat research
is conducted only by state land-grant universities
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture –
Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). Current
federal investment in oat research is less than $4.4
million per year, so the returns from this modest
federal investment in oat research far exceed the
expenditure.
Oats play an important role in sustainable grain
production in the U.S. and provide producers with
another crop option. To remain a viable crop,
progress in oat improvement must be sustained.
Federal support is essential to this progress.
NAMA has 45 member companies operating 169 wheat,
corn, oat and rye mills in 38 states and 150 cities.
Its membership represents about 95% of the total U.S.
capacity.
###
Oat research priorities are listed at http://namamillers.org/cs_oat_priorities_05.html
Statistical background information:
USDA Research Chart
http://www.namamillers.org/pdf/USDAResearchChart.pdf
Yield Comparison http://www.namamillers.org/pdf/YieldComparison.pdf
Oat Production by Decade http://www.namamillers.org/pdf/OatProductionByDecade.pdf
Oat Imports
http://www.namamillers.org/pdf/OatImports.pdf
Back to Top