GROWERS of milling oats are set to reap rewards this year as the dry spring takes a toll on crops.
This week, Riverina grain grower Peter Eisenhauer began harvesting 70ha of mitika oats, hoping they will meet milling specifications.
Mr Eisenhauer and his wife, Gay, grow the early-maturing dwarf-type milling oat as a break crop on their 404ha farm at Ganmain, northwest of Wagga Wagga in NSW.
"They will go close to milling, which is paying $275/tonne, otherwise prices are $80/tonne less for feed oats," he said.
"I have found oats to be a resilient crop in a dry year as they can fossick for nutrients in the soil.
"Growing a dwarf variety means not much stubble and if the crop returns as feed, it is a low-lignin grain (high digestibility) suitable for livestock.
"This outweighs the riskiness of trying to get the crop through to milling (grade)."
The couple have retained all their cereal crops for grain this year, despite a "pretty ordinary" spring.
Harvesting is due to get under way in their wheat crops within three weeks.
"We have had 172mm of growing-season rainfall and the crops are still filling naturally," Mr Eisenhauer said.
The Riverina and North East Victoria are among the major regions targeted by global food giant Nestle Foods for milling oats.
Nestle Foods, under its Uncle Tobys brand, consumes up to 50 per cent of the milling oats grown in the region.
Nestle ingredient buyer Michael Arnone said the company had struggled to source oats in the past, importing the shortfall from Canada and Western Australia last year.
Mr Arnone said Uncle Tobys used 30,000-40,000 tonnes of oats each year.
He said most of the crops were grown on irrigated land.
"It has always been difficult to get growers to commit to growing oats," he said.
"Oats are a niche market, we have difficult specifications to meet and many growers don't want to take on the production or price risk.
"They may be a high-risk option but at least the growers are rewarded for their efforts."
But in the North East and northcentral Victoria, there are few milling oat crops this year, according to agronomist Dale Grey.
Mr Grey, of the Victorian Department of Primary Industries at Cobram, said crop quality varied from average to total failure.
He said potential yield for most wheat and barley crops was two tonnes/ha.
"In the central north area, particularly around Dookie, the crops are magnificent and will yield three to four tonnes/ha," Mr Grey said.
