Our farmers
New Zealand just so happens to grow the best oats in the world. It’s not official (there’s no oat Olympics) but our combo of rich soil, fresh rainwater and the right amount of sun gives us a world-beating oat crop. High fives all round.From when the seed is drilled into the ground to when its harvested, milled and then made into our yummy oat m!lk, it actually never touches a human hand.
Our farmers, although sometimes rugged and of few words, care more than anyone about maintaining the title of producing the World's Most Nutritious Oats. Otis is proud to work closely with Harraways, Plant Research NZ and the NZ Oat Industry Group - a group of around 70 diversified arable farmers. In an arable rotation system (crop rotations will vary considerably depending on the location), a farmer might typically rotate from pastureland for animal grazing to autumn-harvested oat for milling, followed by barley and then peas.
This may be followed by a ryegrass seed crop, spring-feed wheat and then potatoes, before being returned to pasture.This healthy rotating cycle of farm management provides the soil with constant variants, whilst each crop will perform different duties. In the case of oats, they act as a natural 'catch crop' for excess Nitrogen that might be in the soil and prevent it from running off into waterways.
https://www.harraways.co.nz
http://www.plantresearch.co.nz/