The 12 Stacking Functions of Oats as a Cover Crop

When we say we are growing oats at Sun and Bloom Farms, we are not talking about one simple purpose. We are talking about a whole stack of functions. This is one of the core ideas in permaculture and regenerative farming: one element in the system should ideally serve many purposes at the same time.

Here are twelve reasons we grow oats as a cover crop.

1. We grow oats to build organic matter and carbon in the soil.

Oats create biomass above the surface and roots below the surface. Depending on the timing and the winter, they may winterkill naturally, or we may terminate them later in spring and cover the area with a tarp. Either way, that plant material becomes food for the soil. Instead of gathering all of that carbon from somewhere else as compost or mulch, we are growing some of it right where we need it.

2. We grow oats to keep the soil alive.

Living roots are one of the most important parts of soil health. While the oats are growing, their roots are releasing sugars and other compounds into the soil through root exudates. Those exudates feed bacteria, fungi, and other soil organisms that help cycle fertility and keep the underground community active.

3. We grow oats to improve soil structure. 

The roots of oats, together with the soil organisms around them, help create biological glues that form soil aggregates. Those aggregates help the soil become more crumbly, sponge-like, breathable, and able to absorb water. Better structure means better habitat for roots and soil life.

4. We grow oats for erosion control.

Bare soil is vulnerable soil. Rain can break it apart and carry it away. Wind can dry it out and remove the most fertile particles. Oats protect the soil surface, and their roots hold the ground in place.

5. We grow oats for weed suppression.

A strong stand of oats fills space, shades the ground, and makes it harder for weeds to establish. Instead of leaving bare soil open for whatever wants to grow, we choose a plant that serves the farm.

6. We grow oats as nutrient scavengers.

Oats are very useful in cover crop mixes because they can take up nutrients that might otherwise be lost from the soil. When we intergrow oats with other cover crops, including nitrogen-fixing plants like clovers, peas, or vetches, those legumes are helping bring nitrogen into the system. The oats can absorb some of that available nitrogen and use it to grow more biomass. Without a crop there to capture it, some of that fertility could be lost through leaching, runoff, or volatilization, depending on the conditions. So the oats help hold fertility in plant form until that biomass breaks down and returns nutrients to the soil.
7. We grow oats to build resilience and save money.

In our context, if we can grow a plot of oats and harvest seed, biomass, mulch, fodder, or bedding from it, we can use that abundance to help establish and support other areas of the farm. That means we are not only growing a crop; we are growing our capacity to keep growing. Every bit of fertility, mulch, cover, seed, feed, or bedding we can produce in place is something we do not have to buy, haul, or depend on from outside the farm. Saving money is not separate from making money. It is part of building a viable regenerative system.
8. We grow oats for medicine.

Oats can have medicinal value, especially as milky oats and oatstraw. My wife is an herbalist, and herbs are part of how we care for people and animals. So oats can be part of the farm’s apothecary as well as part of its soil-building system.
9. We grow oats for food.

Oats can feed people as grain, flour, or breakfast food. They can also feed animals as fodder or supplemental feed. A farm that grows food for its own living community becomes more resilient.
10. We grow oats for wildlife.

A living stand of oats supports more than the crop plan. Insects come into it. Birds move through it and feed from it. The crop becomes part of a larger web of life on the farm.

11. We grow oats for animal bedding.

When we have enough biomass, some of the oat straw can become bedding for animals — goats, pigs, and sometimes chickens. Then even that bedding continues cycling through the farm. It absorbs manure, protects the animals, and can later return to the compost system or soil as fertility.

12. We grow oats because they are beautiful.

Beauty matters. A green stand of oats in winter and early spring changes the feeling of the land. It reminds us that the soil is still alive, the farm is still breathing, and the next season is already beginning.

So when you see oats growing here, you are not just seeing a cover crop. You are seeing carbon, roots, medicine, food, wildlife habitat, soil protection, fertility, animal bedding, beauty, and resilience — all growing in the same place. That is the power of stacking functions.
If this way of thinking is exciting to you, and you want to go deeper into regenerative soil, soil health, and how to design systems that build fertility instead of constantly depending on outside inputs, I recently launched a book and a four-part regenerative soil course. The course can be taken live with other people or at your own pace, and there is also an option for certification if you want to use this work professionally, including for regenerative soil consulting.
BOOK: https://www.sunandbloomfarms.com/store/p93/regenerative-soil-fertility-guidebook.html

COURSE: https://www.sunandbloomfarms.com/store/p91/soil-regeneration-online.html

And I’d love to hear from you: which of these stacking functions surprised you the most? Can you think of any other functions oats might serve in a regenerative farm system?