Oats production in Canada

Oats have a long and uncertain pedigree, being known since early historical times, for example to the ancient Greeks. Oats are grown in approximately 23 countries around the world. These are concentrated mainly in the northern hemisphere, but also in Australia and Argentina in the southern hemisphere.

Canada is the largest global oats exporter and has one of the largest oat-milling industries in the world, accounting for 15% of total global production and roughly 60% of global exports.

Oats are well suited for production under marginal environments (such as cool climates and soil with limiting nutrients) in comparison to other cereal crops. Western Canada is suited for oat production as many oat varieties flower and mature quickly in the short season conditions.

Production has increase in Manitoba and Saskatchewan since 1995. Both provinces have a closer proximity to the Midwestern US milling market.

The oats markets of Canada and the United States are more closely integrated than the markets of most other commodities.
Oats production in Canada

Production of cornflakes

In the production of cornflakes the raw material is first collected by combined harvester and the grain is then cleaned and milled, then transported to the factory.

Yellow corn with uniform kernel size and unfissured hard endosperm is preferred for flake production because of its stronger flavor and rich golden color after toasting.

The secondary stages on the production of cornflakes then include the following:
*Malt, sugar and salt are added and flavoring are mixed

*The maize is cooked by rotating under pressure at 0.044 to 0.067 tonnes/cm2 for 1 to 2 horus. The grits reach 28 to 33% moisture and appear translucent when properly cooked.

The starch is gelatinized during cooking, but granule swelling is restricted due to limited availability of water. During cooking desirable changes in flavor and color occur.

*The maize is dried using hot air currents to reduce the moisture content. Tempering allows for better moisture equilibration and reduces the chances of corn flake breakage during handling.

*The maize is stored in holding tanks

*The maize is flake using heavy flaking mill rollers. The mill consists of two massive steel cylinders called rolls. The position of one roll is adjustable so the distance between the two rolls can be set to reduce a flake of the desired thickness.

*The cornflakes are toasted in a tumbler toaster. Upon cooling, the flakes are sprayed with nutrients and equilibrated. Sugar coated cornflakes are made by the same process, but the sweetener is sprayed onto the flakes after toasting. The application of spray and atomization is important in sneering uniform and consistent distribution of coating on the products.

*The cornflakes are packaged and transported Production of cornflakes

Oats as animal feed

Canada, the USA, Russian Federation, China, Finland and Poland represent the top six countries for world oat production. Although demand has increased for oats as a human food, the largest portion of the United States oat crop is still used as livestock feed.

Oats have a unique nutritional value, particularly for animals which require feed having a relatively high level of good quality protein, but with lower energy content.

The level of protein in oats groats is higher than that in other cereals; moreover, the quality of oat protein, particularly the amino acid balance, surpasses that of the protein of other cereals.

Between 50% and 90% of the world oat production is used as animal feed for horses, cattle and sheep. Oats have been a preferred feed for animals such as horses and breeder show cattle which must be kept in good condition for a long period of time. Most horse owners prefer oats over other grains because their bulky hulls produce a loose mass that is easily digested.

For feeding to animals, oats are first ground or rolled. Rolled oats can provide 10% of the feed for calves, and is a good starter feed for pigs, although too expensive for other pigs.
Oats as animal feed