Oat Futures Fast Facts

Production and acreage of Oats has declined steadily since 1945 when a record 1.5 billion bushels were produced utilizing 42 million acres. In 1998, only 167 million bushels are estimated to have been harvested, utilizing a paltry 4.9 million acres.

Oat acreage has declined so readily, because Oat demand has fallen. The main demand for Oats comes as an animal feed, primarily horses. As the population of horses has declined, due to the introduction of the internal combustion engine, the demand and resources devoted to Oats has decreased as well.

Over half of our domestic Oat production is grown in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Oats are grown less extensively in the Corn-Belt, Great Lakes, and the Plains. Relatively few Oats are produced in the western and southern states. Almost half of the acreage planted for Oats is harvested for grain, with the remainder being utilized for hay.

Oat Futures Supply and Useage Information

	Beginning	Area	Yield	Total	Feed &	Food, Seed, &	Total	Ending
	Stocks	Harvested	Bu./acre	Supply	Residual	Industrial	Use	Stocks
1994/95	106	4	57.2	429	202	125	328	101
1995/96	101	3	54.7	343	152	123	277	66
1996/97	66	2.7	57.8	319	155	95	253	67
1997/98	67	2.9	60.5	341	170	95	267	74
1998/99	74	2.8	60.4	346	175	95	272	74

all data gathered from the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WASDE #349)
Beginning stocks in Million bushels, Area Harvested in Million acres, and all other figures presented in million bushels.

Usual Planting and Harvest Dates for US Oats

Usual Planting and Harvest Dates for Oats

(Top 5 producing States)

	Planting			Harvest
State	Begin	Most Active	End	Begin	Most Active	End
North Dakota	Apr 22	May 2 - May 17	May 28	Aug 2	Aug 11 - Aug 27	Sep 10
South Dakota	Apr 4	Apr 15 - May 4	May 21	Jul 10	Jul 21 - Aug 7	Aug 20
Wisconsin	Apr 1	Apr 10 - May 20	May 25	Jul 20	Jul 30 - Aug 25	Sep 5
Minnesota	Apr 10	Apr 25 - May 14	May 26	Jul 24	Aug 1 - Aug 26	Sep 10
Indiana	Mar 24	Apr 4 - Apr 23	May 17	Jul 3	Jul 15 - Jul 29	Aug 9

Dates based on the December 1997 USDA Agricultural Statistics Board
Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates report

Crop Progress

Planted - sowing seeds or Planting Progress
Emerged - As soon as the plants are visible.
Headed - The head is present, visible, and fully emerged
Harvested - Reaping the grain, or Harvest Progress

Price Prospective- CBOT Oats Continuos contract monthly data

Oat Futures prices

Seasonal Prospective

Oat Futures seasonal analysis click here

Note: 1.0 represents the seasonal high, while 0.0 represents the seasonal low. Based on CBOT December Corn futures settlement prices from 1979 to 1998.

Disclaimer: The risk of loss in trading futures and options can be substantial, therefore only genuine "risk" capital should be used. Opinions expressed on these pages are based on information believed to be factual, but no guarantee is being made towards accuracy, or completeness. GRAINGUIDE and its producers can not be held responsible for conclusions drawn from these pages. No responsibility is assumed or implied by the statements contained in this forum. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell, but merely a market bulletin. The owners and staff of GRAINGUIDE may have positions in the commodities mentioned.

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THE DATA CONTAINED HERE IN ARE BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE BUT CANNOT BE GUARANTEED AS TO RELIABILITY, ACCURACY, OR COMPLETENESS; AND, AS SUCH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. CFEA WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM RELIANCE ON THIS DATA OR THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE IN.

DISCLOSURE OF RISK: THE RISK OF LOSS IN TRADING FUTURES AND OPTIONS CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL; THEREFORE, ONLY GENUINE RISK FUNDS SHOULD BE USED. FUTURES AND OPTIONS MAY NOT BE SUITABLE INVESTMENTS FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, AND INDIVIDUALS SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THEIR FINANCIAL CONDITION IN DECIDING WHETHER TO TRADE. OPTION TRADERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THE EXERCISE OF A LONG OPTION WOULD RESULT IN A FUTURES POSITION.

HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW.

NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL, OR IS LIKELY TO, ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. IN FACT, THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARP DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND THE ACTUAL RESULTS SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED BY ANY PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM.

ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS IS THAT THEY ARE GENERALLY PREPARED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. IN ADDITION, HYPOTHETICAL TRADING DOES NOT INVOLVE FINANCIAL RISK, AND NO HYPOTHETICAL TRADING RECORD CAN COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK IN ACTUAL TRADING. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND LOSSES OR TO ADHERE TO A PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM, IN SPITE OF TRADING LOSSES, ARE MATERIAL POINTS WHICH CAN ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER FACTORS RELATED TO THE MARKETS, IN GENERAL, OR TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY SPECIFIC TRADING PROGRAM WHICH CANNOT BE FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PREPARATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND ALL OF WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS.