While Western Australia produces arguably the best oats in the world, they are becoming a forgotten crop – but biosecurity risks attached to importing from interstate or overseas make it important that Western Australian farmers keep growing them.

The Department of Agriculture’s Kellie Winfield, said the Western Australian oat industry was working together to improve supply so WA did not have to import oats.

“The National Oat Breeding Program is developing new and improved varieties to improve supply and return for Western Australian growers, and the Western Oat Alliance is working with industry groups along the supply chain to develop better production and QA based systems,” Kellie said. 

Renowned for plump grain, bright colour and low levels of moisture, oats are unfortunately subject to huge fluctuations in production.

Quaker Oats Purchasing Manager and past president of the Oat Technical and Promotion Committee - now the Western Oat Alliance - John Hunter said importing oats involved strict quarantine procedures, which made it important enough was grown in Western Australia to meet market needs,

 “Grain yield and quality is at the heart of the whole biosecurity issue. What we strive for is a higher yield so that greater quantities are available,” said Mr Hunter.

“The problem is that the return on oats to the grower is lower than, for example, wheat, so it’s a huge challenge to build up production levels in Western Australia.

 “Biosecurity is extremely important in oat production. The awareness of buyers is becoming a big issue, from how it’s treated in the paddock through to the processing operation. It is much more refined, and greater emphasis is being placed on farmers.

“Storage of oats has recently become a huge issue. Buyers are much more demanding of knowing what the product is all about.

”It is important that we are able to demonstrate that we have control of the product – we need to know all about it, where it was grown, how it was grown and so on..

"As the grain is received we conduct tests to determine the Hectolitre weight, the percentage of moisture and the percentage of screenings. We also do physical checks for aroma or any contaminants that may not be picked up through the spear samples."

“Further tests to determine the husk percentage, percentage of loose kernels and admixture are subsequently tested as soon as possible after receiving the grain.

 "We only use the 'guts' of the oat - the husk goes out as stockfeed. With the majority of our product exported, our QA is very strictly controlled."