As corn and soybean prices have diminished, the lower input costs and improved soil conditions from multi-year oat rotations are sparking new interest among producers.

Limited markets and test weight issues persist for the once-popular crop, but researchers with Iowa State University and Practical Farmers of Iowa are making strides to provide farmers with information to diversify their row-crop operations.

Clark Porter of Porter Family Farms in Reinbeck, Iowa, planted 23 acres of oats last year to test whether adding oats to his conventional farming operation made sense.

The Porters grow primarily corn and soybeans and use custom equipment operators. After harvesting the oats and baling the straw, they planted a hay crop — saving later on nitrogen inputs from the legumes. They were also able to trade some of their straw for manure.

Porter said the benefits were two-fold, with lower input costs, in terms of seed, fuel and fertilizer, and an early growing season, allowing for more cover crops or hay.

“Given the prices of commodities, most of the game has shifted to inputs,” Porter said.

He said return on investment is a “huge issue” now, but he thinks the development of better local markets for oats will be key to making the crop pencil out in the long-term.

Researchers at Iowa State have been looking at the effects of oats and small-grain rotations on field conditions for over a decade.

Matt Liebman, an Iowa State agronomy professor, said field tests have consistently demonstrated multi-year oat rotations, when integrated with livestock production, can maintain or increase corn yields while lowering input costs.

Other benefits of oat rotations include significant soil loss reductions, better weed control and more particular organic matter, he said.

In soybeans, adding oats to rotations has led to a significant reduction in incidence and severity of sudden death syndrome, he said.

“The yield implications are pretty strong,” he said.

In the Iowa State studies, researchers were able to achieve high yields and good test weights for oats and maintain or improve yields for corn and soybeans — all while saving on inputs.

“The profitability is good for the whole system,” Liebman said.