State × crop calendar
Cereal Oats planting in North Dakota.
- Primary crop
- Zone 4a
- 125-day season
- Last frost May 20
- Cover Crop
- Frost Hardy
Cereal Oats planting in North Dakota is shaped by the state's 4a dominant hardiness zone, last frost date around May 20, and a 125-day growing season. Cereal Oats is widely grown in North Dakota — commercially significant or common in home gardens and food plots.
Planting dates on this page are climatological estimates from USDA frost-date norms and zone-typical planting offsets. Verify against NDSU Extension for variety- and county-specific guidance.
Planting calendar — 2026
Frost-anchored windows.
Cereal Oats · North Dakota · planting calendar
Planting windows shift earlier in southern parts of the state and later in northern parts. Use last frost date in your specific county as the reference.
Planting windows
Earliest → ideal → latest.
Spring planting
Cereal OatsEarliest
April 29
Ideal start
May 13
Ideal end
June 10
Latest
July 1
Soil-temp trigger
Spring oats: plant as soon as soil can be worked. Fall oats: 60-75 days before first hard freeze — winter-killed in northern states.Fall planting
Cereal OatsEarliest
July 7
Ideal start
July 22
Ideal end
August 6
Latest
August 23
Soil-temp trigger
Spring oats: plant as soon as soil can be worked. Fall oats: 60-75 days before first hard freeze — winter-killed in northern states.Harvest window
Typical start
August 11
Typical end
September 10
Harvest timing varies with planting date and seasonal weather — these dates are typical for the ideal planting window.
Growing notes
Cereal Oats grows well in North Dakota's typical climate. North Dakota's 125-day growing season and 4a hardiness zone support reliable production with appropriate variety selection.
Cereal Oats is widely grown in North Dakota — commercially significant or common in home gardens and food plots.
Agronomy reference
Cereal Oats fundamentals.
Soil-temp minimum
38°F
Soil-temp optimum
45–75°F
Days to maturity
90–120
Water (in/wk)
0.5–1"
Soil pH
5.5–7
Nitrogen demand
moderate
Spring oats are an early-season grain; fall-planted oats winter-kill in most of the Midwest and Northeast (a feature for cover crop use).
Common pests to watch
- Aphids
- Cereal leaf beetle
Pest pressure varies by region and year. Confirm current outbreaks with NDSU Extension.
Common diseases
- Crown rust
- BYDV
- Smut
Resistance varieties shift each year. Check the current variety trial report for your state.
Variety selection
Cereal Oats varieties for North Dakota live with your extension.
Variety selection
Variety performance is micro-regional and changes with each year's trial cycle. We don't republish variety lists — instead, we point directly at the source.
NDSU Extension →Search the extension site for “cereal oats variety trial” or “recommended cereal oats varieties” to find the current report.
Yield varies significantly by variety, soil, fertility, and management. Consult your state extension service for variety performance trials in your region.
Cereal Oats timing. Live alerts.
Bield: Farm ties weather and soil-temperature stations in your county to crop planting thresholds — get notified the day soil temp clears your target window.
Start free trial →