The general requirement is for dry oats, having creamy white groats which are free from discolouration, off flavours and foreign matter such as other crops, weed seeds, insects, and rodent or insect excrement. These standards ensure that the end product will be uniform, nutritious, sanitary, and acceptable to the consumer. Oats that meet these standards may be marketed into the milling trade at a potentially higher return. The decision to grow oats for the milling market brings with it extra responsibilities in the areas of seed selection, fertilization, crop management, and harvesting. These factors may not be as critical if the oats are being grown for the feed market.
Millers remove the hulls and use the kernel, or groat for food production.
A plump kernel with a higher ratio of groat to hull is more acceptable to oat millers. Choose varieties with high kernel weights and a low hull percentage. Varieties of hull-less oats are available but are not generally purchased for milling purposes. In some cases, eastern grown varieties of tan hulled oats are not generally acceptable to millers. If there is any question of the suitability of a variety, contact the miller to whom you will be selling.