Saia Oats

We recommend our Saia Oats, a tall, black-seeded, fine-stemmed grazing oat with good tolerance of acid soils. It grows on a wide range of soil types, provided they are well drained, and it tolerates a broad pH range. It establishes fast, has a high leaf-to-stem ratio and recovers well after grazing.

Our Saia Oats is a good choice for horses, sheep and beef cattle. Sow it in late summer or early autumn for winter bulk. It can produce up to 7 t DM/ha by spring where moisture and soil fertility are good. Winter feed is typically about 70% digestible, with 7–8% crude protein, and horses find it readily palatable.

As a single species, sow Saia Oats at 60–100 kg/ha, depending on soil type, region and expected rainfall. In mixtures, use 15–50 kg/ha. Sow 35–70mm deep into a cultivated seedbed. Seed can be sown dry if placed deeper than 50mm, and sowing works best at soil temperatures between 12°C and 25°C.

Our sheets list Saia Oats for areas with 350mm+ to 400mm+ annual rainfall, so it suits most medium rainfall parts of the wheatbelt and higher. Sow with about 10kg P/ha. If you use MAP or DAP, keep it separate from the seed. Maintenance nitrogen of 35–70kg N/ha helps keep feed coming.

Graze Saia Oats before stem elongation, and leave about 12cm of residue, or down to the lowest stem node, so it can regrow. Give it about a month to recover before grazing again. Strip grazing along a long front reduces trampling losses, and a back fence helps maximise regrowth.

Be careful. Saia Oats is susceptible to pugging, and grazing when the soil is waterlogged will compromise regrowth. It performs best on well-drained soils. On wetter flats, take stock off during very wet spells, or consider our Joey Triticale, which our guide lists as more tolerant of waterlogging.

We recommend Saia Oats as a pioneer or cover crop. It is robust, establishes fast and is widely used for weed control and soil preparation before renovating with perennial pasture. It is also a hardy choice on new land. Dropped seed can regenerate for a season or two, so manage it before sowing the perennials.

Saia Oats combines well with clovers, peas, vetch and medics, and with annual ryegrass. In a mix, reduce the oats to 15–50 kg/ha. Our Common Vetch or Coogee Field Peas lift protein, and our Silahay Mix or Custom Mix can be built around a cereal base for hay and silage.

Yes, young oat plants, including Saia Oats, can accumulate high nitrate levels that lead to nitrite poisoning, especially in cattle. Risk rises with slow growth, hot dry conditions, and frost or hail damage. Introduce hungry stock gradually, feed hay first, and avoid grazing stressed crops. Saia is otherwise readily eaten and highly palatable.

Saia Oats is a fine-stemmed, black-seeded Avena strigosa that suits grazing, hay, silage and cover cropping, and it tolerates acid soils. It is late maturing, so feed stays leafy for longer. Ezigraze Forage Oats is another grazing oat in our range. Tell us your soil, rainfall and livestock, and we will help you choose.