The announcement follows the inaugural in-person meeting of the Grains Australia Oat Council in Perth earlier this month and means the two varieties are now officially at Stage Zero Evaluation and will progress to full commercial milling assessment next year before further decisions are made about their classification.

Chair of Grains Australia's Oat Council and Western Australian grain grower, Ashley Wiese, said it is exciting for the Council to work closely with industry on the development of Australia's first National Oat Classification program.

"As the industry is investing more in oat breeding it's increasingly important that we have a strong classification system that can ensure new varieties meet the needs of our domestic and international customers and Australian growers," Wiese said.

InterGrain's 13008-18 is a dual-purpose oat variety that is intended for use in all growing regions across WA, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Seednet's Koala is a mid to long-season oat variety that is suited for growing in medium to high-rainfall environments. Both varieties have improved disease resistance and have the potential to offer good options for growers and millers.

Promoters of the two varieties under evaluation will spend the current growing season bulking up the varieties to generate enough grain suitable to commence Stage One commercial milling assessment from January next year.

For more details, visit: www.grainsaustralia.com.au