Clayton County tops Iowa in oat production

Clayton County was the largest oat-producing county in Iowa this year with an estimated 248,000 bushels, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Winneshiek County at 168,000 bushels was second, and Allamakee County with 116,000 bushels was third, making northeast Iowa the largest oat-producing district, with a total of 1.1 million bushels.

Widely variable conditions across the state resulted in some counties reporting lower yields than 2013, while others reported higher yields than last year.

The lowest yielding county was Worth. at 39 bushels per acre. Mitchell had the second lowest yield at 45.3, with Harden and Polk both reporting yields less than 50 bushels per acre.

The central district in Iowa had the largest drop in yield, with Story County having an 18 bushels per acre decrease and Tama County recording a decline of 17.5 bushels per acre.

The highest yielding county was Lyon with 110.4 bushels per acre. Plymouth had the second-highest yield at 95.3 bushels per acre, the only other county with a yield above 90 bushels per acre.

Iowa County had the greatest increase in yield from 2013, at 24.7 bushels per acre, followed by Ringgold County, which increased 19.4 bushels per acre.

Iowa has not been a major source of oats since horse-powered farm tools were replaced by tractors and combines. Oat production peaked in 1876 with about 3.4 million acres planted in Iowa, according to the National Agriculture Statistic Service.

By the 1940s, oats were down to 1 million acres in Iowa. The crop has staged a strong comeback in recent decades with an estimated 3.5 million bushels this year, down from 3.9 million bushels in 2013.

PepsiCo's Quaker Foods North America in Cedar Rapids buys some of its supply from Iowa farmers. The other large buyer in Iowa is Grain Millers in St. Ansgar.