The Otis Oat M!lk 1% Fund recipient for 2022 is an oat breeding programme from Plant Research New Zealand. The fund that was established in 2021 captures one percent of total Otis sales to fund New Zealand projects and initiatives that make oats a viable and exciting farming alternative.
“With climates changing we feel more than ever this New Zealand breeding programme is critical for creating greater weather- and pest-resilient breeds, and higher-yielding oats for Kiwi farmers which are less reliant on synthetic fertilisers. Most importantly, we want to dial up the healthy dietary fibre that our milk contains, the beta-glucan,” said Chris Wilkie, Otis Co-Founder.
“Adrian Russell is the founder and project lead researcher at Plant Research NZ. Partnering with millers Harraways and South Island oat farmers from the New Zealand Oat Industry Group, Adrian and the team at Plant Research have dedicated fifteen years of work to this programme. We’re thrilled to announce that the funds collected over the past 12 months will help go towards this vital research. It’s important to us that the work Plant Research does will benefit the whole industry - from the farmers to the mill and any producers using this amazing crop.”
“Through all of us working together, gains can be made in areas that offer New Zealand oats unique genetics with improved functionality or processing advantages. This is vital to maintain competitiveness within the industry and with other arable crops. It’s pleasing to have this type of direct support from Otis that will ultimately benefit everyone within the oat value chain in New Zealand,” said Russell.
“Oat mi!k is the perfect mi!k for the future. Research globally shows oat mi!k’s footprint is much lighter; producing one litre of oat mi!k requires 11 times less land and 13 times less water than producing one litre of dairy mi!k. That one litre of oat mi!k also emits three and a half times fewer greenhouse gas emissions than its dairy equivalent,” said Tim Ryan, Otis Co-Founder.
“As a company, we want to step up and try our best to offer small solutions to our industry, and getting behind this vital research could be the key to its success.”
