General Mills and South Dakota university partner for oats variety development

General Mills has opened an oat variety development laboratory at South Dakota State University (SDSU) campus in Brookings, US.

This lab will focus on boosting the sustainability and quality of oats in the country.

General Mills vice-president and chief science and technology development officer Jim Kirkwood said: "Our company has made a public commitment to source 100% of our oats by 2020 from growing regions that demonstrate continuous improvement against industry-based environmental metrics.

"Having a venerable institution like SDSU as a partner will allow us to do more innovative oat breeding research in the labs and fields, and get us to that goal."

The collaborative oat research laboratory is located in the Young Brothers Seed Technology Building on-campus.

It includes labs, greenhouses and access to field trials.

General Mills agronomists and plant breeders will work alongside the university’s plant science department’s plant breeders, grain scientists, seed experts, environmental scientists, field station managers and student researchers.

The two partners will focus on raising the nutritional qualities of oats; developing better performing oat varieties with higher yields; and helping farmers better agronomy practices to increase sustainability.

SDSU president Barry H Dunn said: "At South Dakota State University, we believe strongly in public/private partnerships and the synergies they bring to research and innovation.

"This relationship combines an international innovator in consumer foods and the leading land-grant institution in the country’s second largest oat-producing state. The new laboratory will be a powerful shared opportunity to enhance agricultural productivity and food production, and help stimulate sustainable economic growth and prosperity."

South Dakota ranked second in the US in oat production last year.