Oats: An Environmentally Friendly Crop
During the last decade, most Americans
have learned of the important nutritional benefits of eating oats. What
most Americans, including farmers, don't know are the environmental
benefits of growing oats. Oats are an ideal "low-input" crop, which,
when included in rotations, encourage crop diversity to control plant
diseases, insects and weeds, and to reduce soil erosion. Oats does all
this and more. In addition to the direct value of an oat crop - the
grain and the straw - oats have value as part of agricultural systems
that include several other crops in rotations.
Each crop has its particular diseases and insect pests.
Planting crops in yearly rotation, e.g., oats - soybeans - wheat - corn, helps prevent buildup of many destructive organisms. Keeping disease organisms and insects at low levels reduces the risk of unexpected yield loss and the need for chemical pesticides. For example, a three-year rotation of corn - oats - soybeans nearly eliminates the corn rootworm extended diapause problem in corn - soybean rotations and, thus, the need for corn rootworm insecticides.
Oats greatly reduce the need for herbicides.
Oats are solid-seeded and, when planted early, develop a dense cover that shades competing weeds. The weed suppression effects of an oat crop can carry over to subsequent row crops if oats are included regularly in a crop rotation program. Oats are often used as a "natural herbicide" - grown as a companion (or starter) crop to help establish forage legume crops by shading areas where weeds would grow. As a result, reduced herbicide use in oat production helps prevent contamination of surface and ground waters.
Agricultural crops are distinct in terms of the amount of nutrients they take from the soil.
Oats extract less nitrogen from the soil (or a minimum amount of fertilizer) compared to some other crops. For example, heavy applications of fertilizers, particularly nitrogen sources, are needed for maintaining high yields with continuous corn. Reducing excess fertilizer applications is important for reducing both surface and groundwater nitrate contamination.
Oats provide excellent soil erosion control.
Row crops leave a substantial surface area of soil exposed to wind and water erosion. The dense cover provided by oats helps prevent soil erosion. In certain crop rotations, oats also require less tillage for seedbed preparation, which further helps prevent erosion - the less one turns or disturbs the soil, the less the soil is susceptible to erosion. Farmers should consider the soil erosion control benefits of oats when developing conservation compliance plans for highly erodible land (HEL).
Oat stubble is an ideal medium for planting in a no-till or minimum-till program.
More moisture is available for seedling establishment in oat residue compared to planting into row crop residue. Tests in South Dakota during dry years have shown a 15-20 bushel advantage for corn planted into oat residue compared to corn planted into soybean residue.
Oat production offers multiple advantages to U.S. agriculture and the environment.
Oats help conserve soil, require less chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, reduce water contamination by agricultural chemicals, and provide nutritional benefits to both humans and animals.
Read about Oats, Oat Products, Oat Milling or Oat Recipes. Or Investigate the Corn or Wheat sections.
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