Short answer: Drought in the US and war in Ukraine.
Longer answer: In late ’21 oat prices started to increase exponentially. Our buyer said the reason was twofold. 1) A drought in the major oat producing area of the US and 2} the gov’t heavily subsidized the growing of wheat in 2021. Oat farmers switched over to take advantage of the added income, creating a further shortage of oats.
In Feb 2022, war erupted in Ukraine, also known as Europe’s breadbasket due to its fertile soil, cheap labor, and deepwater ports. Conscripted farmers are not harvesting winter crops nor planting spring crops, creating a shortage of all kinds of agricultural products. Millers and bakers are having to scramble to find other sources of grain, including from the US, creating a dearth on our continent as well.