These plump grains are on a journey to become Scotland’s first oat drink.
They are part of five-year project which has been ongoing in Agrii variety trials being held on Gordon Rennie's Stenton Farm, at St Andrews, with the New Zealand variety, L5
Mr Rennie said: "This handful is from Scotland’s very first commercial crop and the first field of L5 to be grown outside NZ. As a farmer, L5 is fantastic as it has good agronomic qualities – the main one being very stiff straw.
"We also do not spray oats with the herbicide glyphosate just before harvest which, if we did, would mean any oat drink or porridge would without doubt be laced with, albeit minute traces, of glyphosate. The consumer expects this to be a healthy sustainable nutritious food, so the last think we want is to deliberately add glyphosate to their diet."
The variety was bred in NZ by Adrian Russell, of Plant Research NZ, and is the most popular oat variety in the only oat growing region. which is around Gore, in Southland.
Mr Rennie said there was a proven market for alternative drinks and this variety naturally produces a white liquid which requires minimal dressing up for sale. He foresees a strong future for home-produced oat drinks.
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