Supply, Demand, and Effects of Alternative Policies on the U.S. Oats Industry

Oats are used as both a cover and a production crop. In the Corn Belt and Northern Plains, large year-to-year changes in the oats harvested-to-planted acreage ratio suggest specifying harvested rather than planted acreage equations. Oats demands for feed, food, seed, and stock use are simultaneously estimated in this study, and impacts of alternative policies on oats production, prices, and returns are simulated. Changes in corn and dairy policies associated with the 1985 farm bill are shown to have significant consequences for the U.S. oats industry.