Fine-Tune Oat Seeding Rate This Spring
It’s time to plant small grains. When planting oats, spring wheat, and barley, farmers typically plant two to three bushels of small grains per acre, but there is a better way to optimize plant populations and grain yields. Farmers calculate corn and soybean rates by seed count and should do the same for small grains. Several factors affect final plant stands at oat harvest, including: desired final plant stand, number of oat seeds per pound, germination rate in the seed lot, and expected stand loss from irregular seeding depth or early plant death.