Getting up in the early hours of the morning to walk the oat fields was a new experience for me. I don’t usually get up early by normal standards, let alone this early. I made sure to have as much caffeine as possible, which included both coffee and a monster. Me, my boss and two others met on the first day at the office and drove to the field together. The sun was rising as we began walking in each couple of rows, checking for any signs of barley. When I first started, I struggled to keep my eyes on the field instead of where I was stepping.

The goal was to find anything that wasn’t oats, and remove it. The entire field needed to be checked. So, we went up and down three fields over the course of a couple weeks. With some spots having a small amount of barely and others having nothing. Sometimes animals or surrounding fields have barley. The animals rest in the barley then wander over and rest in the oat field which can cause transfers to happen. Whenever we found barley, we removed it from the field, took pictures of the area, and continued. 

On our first day walking through the fields, the morning dew was overpowering. Soon it made our boots feel 25 pounds heavier. I disliked the sound my shoes made from all the water built up in them. When I poured out the boots, I was genuinely shocked by how much water came out.

I learned that day that I need a second pair of socks and pants next time I help with field inspection. The way my legs were both drenched from the dew and muddy from… well, the mud. The way I was walking just pushed the mud up more to the point it was overflowing my muck boots.

But one thing I remember the most is the smell of the wet oats as we walked. It was such a distinct smell, not bad at all, just unique. The oats still have the smell when they are processed but this was just different. It has stuck with me after that day.

As we walked through the rows, I learned fast what oats and barley looked like and how they are different. Barely has a more stock-like form and whisps that surround it. It was also a more yellow green and stuck out so much more than the oats did. 

On the other hand, oats are stringy plants that have the oat hang curving downward. They were not as pointy and at the time they were much greener than the barley was. We spent hours walking through each field, the three of us every couple of rows making sure we pulled any barely we found.

Walking through the field and struggling not to fall over in the tight slippery rows made me realize how I love not walking in tight spaces. One wrong step and I would be on the ground. It felt like I was trying to walk on a tight rope on the ground. I would keep my hands close to the oats just in case something like a slip ever happened. This saved me more than one time. There were also spots that animals had laid in and the indents in the oats made it 5 times harder to walk through. I had to use so much leg muscle to push my way through.

Some of the oats were taller than me, which made the experience more interesting. Walking through the oat fields is not for the weak. Not knowing where or what you are stepping on was horrifying. Plus, not knowing what lives in the oat plants made it worse. I am not good with bugs, and this pushed my fear of bugs to the max. I just had to keep my hands up and my mind clear. I am glad that I had a bug mask on. It gave me a peace of mind that I would not have otherwise. I also brought the strongest bug spray I could find so I would not be attacked. 

During one of our last walk throughs, the oats were close to being harvested. They were so tall and thick, that as we were walking through, we spooked a deer from where they were resting. It was cool watching it jump through the field with suck ease. That was not the only deer I saw in that same field. We were just driving by one day and there was one poking its head out at us. It was just chilling there watching.

What surprised me most was how much attention and effort goes into something as simple as keeping oats pure. Walking the fields gave me a completely different appreciation for how much goes into the process long before the oats are packaged and sold. It also gave me a better idea of how much GFO cares about keeping the oats gluten-free. I am glad I can experience things like this. From getting the experience to learning about how to inspect a field is rad.

- Ellie Glassford