grain_icon  Species |  Rice |  Maize |  Wheat |  Barley |  Oats |  Foxtail Millet |  Pearl Millet |  Rye |  Sorghum |  Wild Rice |  Brachypodium |  Oryza Species |  Grape |  Arabidopsis

Oat Maps and Statistics*

grain_icon Oat Introduction |  Facts |  Anatomy | Taxonomy |  Agronomic Statistics |  Research |  Education |  Nutrition |  Recipes |  News |  Germplasm Resources |  Gramene Statistics |  Gramene Queries

Figure 1*
Figure 2* - Global Oat Production Map
Figure 1 (above left) shows the top oat-producing countries for 2005, and the map in Figure 2 (above right) show production levels for all countries reporting oat production in 2005. As you can tell by the distribution map, oats are particularly well suited for cooler moist areas (4), although they can be grown in many climates.

Figures 3 and 4 show that the overall trend in oats is to have more than halved in land area dedicated to oat production since 1960, and to have therefore cut production by about half. Because they are mainly grown for animal feed, part of this reduction is accounted for because of the replacement of horse power by machines (6). (See also Oat Nutrition for usage statistics (animal feed vs. human consumption) and Doorway to the Land of Avena for listings of other uses.) Perhaps as the health benefits of oats becomes better known, human consumption will increase.

Figure 3*
Figure 4*

* FAOSTAT data, 2005


References:

  1. Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=391) AVENA FATUA Linnaeus, var. SATIVA (Linnaeus) Haussknecht, Mitt. Geogr. Ges. (Thüringen) Jena 3: 238. 1885.
  2. FAOSTAT data, 2006. Last Accessed 4/14/2006.
  3. Gibson, L. & Benson, G. (2002). Origin, History, and Uses of Oat (Avena sativa) and Wheat (Triticum aestivum). Iowa State University, Department of Agronomy. Accessed 4/14/2006.
  4. North American Millers' association (2000). Oat foods: A smart choice. Retrieved April 14, 2006.
  5. Plants For A Future (2000). Accessed 4/15/06. Avena sativa. Plants for a Future, Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
  6. Small, E. (1999). New crops for Canadian agriculture. p. 15-52. In: J. Janick (ed.), Perspectives on new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.
  7. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://www.ars-grin.gov2/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?6123. (14 April 2006)
  8. USDA, NRCS. (2006). The PLANTS Database, 6 March 2006. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
  9. Vandaveer, C. (2004). Oats, past and present. Accessed 4/14/2006.
  10. Whole Grains Bureau. Accessed 4/14/06. History of Whole Grains.
  11. Wikipedia contributors (2006). Oat. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 14, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oat&oldid=48827875.
  12. Williams, John K. (2003) A Brief History of Oats - And How You Should Eat Them. Accessed 4/14/2006.
  13. Wisconsin Botanical Information System. Avena sativa L. Wisconsin State Herbarium - University of Wisconsin-Madison. Accessed 4/14/2006.