Know a landowner who supports beginning farmers or advances farmland stewardship? Nominate them for our Land Owner Legacy Award!
Small Grains
Small grains crops like oats, wheat, barley, rye and triticale are seeing renewed interest by farmers in Iowa. Practical Farmers members and others are generating information about how to source seed, as well as plant, manage and harvest these crops.
Iowa was once a nationwide leader in small grain production, especially oats, but many farm families haven’t grown them for a generation. Now that more and more members have become interested in growing small grains, Practical Farmers of Iowa’s staff and members have been busy compiling information about how to plant, harvest, store, and sell small grains.
2023 Small Grain Cost Share Application
If you farm in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska or Wisconsin and plan to harvest a crop of barley, oats, rye, triticale or wheat in 2023 and follow that crop with a cover crop, then you may qualify for cost share and/or a connection to a small grains market program. To determine your eligibility, complete the application and we’ll let you know if you quality for cost share.
Small Grains Business Directory
Benefits of Small Grains Infographic
Small Grains in the Cornbelt — 2016 Oat Pilot Report
Feeding Small Grains to Livestock — Meta-Analysis
Subscribe to monthly small grains e-mails
University and Extension Research
- Diversifying Corn-Soybean Rotations (ISU)
- An economic comparison of organic and conventional grain crops in a long-term agroecological research (LTAR) site in Iowa (ISU)
Production Manuals
- Intercropping Winter Cereal Grains Winter Cereal Grains and Red Clover (ISU)
- Wheat Production Handbook (KSU)
- Univ. Minnesota Small Grains Profiles (UMN)
- Small Grain Production For Iowa-Spr
ing (ISU) - Small Grain Production For Iowa-Winter (ISU)
- Oats: A Production Guide (Grain Millers)
Variety Trials
- ISU Oat Variety Trials : 2012 – 2013 – 2014 – 2015ne – 2015nc
- Illinois Wheat and oat Variety Trials
- Nebraska Hard Winter Wheat Variety Trials
- Minnesota Small Grain Variety Trials: Oats – Barley – Spring Wheat – Winter Wheat
- Practical Farmers of Iowa Oat Variety Trial: 2015 – 2016 – 2017 – 2018
- North Dakota State University: Oat/Barley/Rye – Spring Wheat – Winter Wheat
- South Dakota State University: Oat – Spring Wheat – Winter Wheat
- University of Wisconsin: Oat/Barley – Winter Wheat
Decision Making Tools
Contact Information
For more information about small grains programming: contact Lydia English at lydia.english@practicalfarmers.org.