Oat

First mention about oat cultivation dates back to 4^th century B.C. As an agricultural crop oat is known to the people of Southeast Asia since 1500 – 1700 B.C.

In the global grain economy amounts of oat grain production have recently decreased. Today it is the fourth after corn, barley, and sorghum in the group of grain forage crops.

Nevertheless oat wholesale has been increased and a large number of consumers want to buy or sell oat by wholesale and in small lots. And it is not surprising. Oat is a forage and food crop. This cereal grain is cold resistant, hygrophilous and unpretentious to soils.

In Ukraine oats are successfully cultivated mostly in forest steppe and in Polesye. Sowing acreages occupy 0,5 – 0,6 mln. hectares. And oat sale play an important role on the domestic agricultural market during many years. Being the Ukrainian market’s leader Agricultural Holding “August” successfully deals with oat sale.

By the productivity (18,9 hundred kilograms per hectare) it trails spring barley. Using the right cultivation technology it’s possible to receive higher harvest that would be more than an average.

Food and fodder importance of oats is predetermined by high content of protein (12 – 18%), starch (40 – 45%), fat (4 – 5%) and ash (4 – 2%) in oat grain. Oats are essential concentrated cattle fodder: 1 kg of oats is equal to 1 fodder unit with 85 – 92g of digestible protein. The grains offer a number of vitamins (B1, B2) and microelements (cobalt, zinc, manganese).

Aswe know oat grains play an important role in human nutrition. Grits, especially nutritive groat “Hercules”, flour, oatmeal, hard biscuits, cookies, and coffee substitutes are made of oat grains. They became very popular and today people who care about their health want to buy this healthy food. Oat flour doesn’t contain gluten and is not used in raw. Products made of oat digest well and are very important for diet and baby food.

Oat straw (there are 31 fodder units in 100 kg) and husk (there are 46 fodder units in 100 kg) are the best forage by its nutritional and digest abilities. Oats are also cultivated for green fodder and hey blended with vetch and pea.

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine in November 2010 oat grain production was 490 thousand tons.