From Grainews: "It’s a Good Time to be Breeding Oats"

Despite a few stumbling blocks, the Canadian oat industry continues to advance and offer good opportunities for oat growers.

“The loss of funding is a large percentage of the total amount of oat breeding dollars that were contributed each year,” says Shawna Mathieson, executive director of the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA). “Due to this, all the oat breeding programs are attempting to continue the good work they have been doing with significantly less dollars. Western Canadian oat breeders still receive breeding program support from every other major oat miller, oat growers through the provincial check-offs, and many other industry players to attempt to alleviate the shortfall this reduced funding has created.”

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From Tech Life Today: "Open Wide for Fermented Oat Cheese! Research Partnership Explores New Ways to Transform Grain"

From NAIT’s research kitchen, Maynard Kolskog plays the role of mad oat scientist – experimenting with new concoctions and recipes with the grain. It’s part of a research partnership with the University of Alberta and the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA) to transform oats from humble cereal grain to myriad forms of heart-smart superfoods that fit a variety of consumer diets.

Oat products such as milk substitutes have already found a spot on grocery store shelves, and the research partners see strong potential to expand. “There’s a lot of uses out there that haven’t been determined,” says Shawna Mathieson, executive director with POGA. “Canadians are hungry for more natural and healthy foods.”

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From Grainews: "Consumer Demands Driving Oat Research"

Health conscious people are in “the know” about the benefits of eating oats and oat products. Oats truly are a super food, high in dietary fiber that many studies suggest can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and colorectal cancer.

At the University of Alberta’s Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, Dr. Lingyun Chen is leading three research projects in collaboration with the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA): oat-protein enriched beverages, a lactose-free, oat-based coffee additive and products containing oat fractions.

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From newswire.ca: "The Government of Canada invests in innovation to advance Canada's field crops"
Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

MP Francis Drouin highlighted the Government of Canada's investment of up to $5.4 million to the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership's AgriScience Program (Clusters). This research investment, which includes an additional $3 million from industry, will help soybean crops become more resilient and productive, increase the geographic range for growing crops and benefit the environment.

MP Drouin also announced an additional investment of $4.1 million over five years to the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA), funded under the AgriScience Program (Projects). This additional funding supports two national projects, one on oat and one on corn.

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Cereal Commissions Call for Changes in Value Creation Consultations