Oat growers to feature research and market tips

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The informal theme of the ninth annual Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA) conference is "oats and canola go together like a horse and carriage," a nod to the recent buzz over two new canola crushing plants planned for Yorkton.

"The continuing theme is really agronomics," said Jack Dawes with POGA. "It's already known that oats and canola make good rotation crops, and with the buzz about the new canola crush plants in Yorkton, we're expecting a lot of interest."

Yorkton has previously hosted two very successful POGA conferences, and Dawes said this year is looking very promising as well. "The Yorkton conference is always good, in part because we are right in the heart of the oat-growing region," said Dawes. "We expect about 150 in attendance, most of whom will be producers."

The conference is also a great networking opportunity for producers to speak directly to representatives of the buyers for their product. Industry representatives from Agricore United, Can-Oat Milling, Grain Millers, Quaker-PepsiCo and General Mills will all be in attendance. "It's a chance for producers to talk one-on-one with some of the movers and shakers," said Dawes.

The conference organizers aim to include, as much as possible, all of the issues that they think will be of interest to oat producers. Dawes says there is a focus on both research and marketing at this year's conference. "We're looking at 'what are some of the issues in oat breeding and research?'" said Dawes. "That's where the title, 'Thinking Outside the (Research) Box,' comes in."

That presentation will feature Dr. Brian Rossnagel with the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon, Dr. Jennifer Mitchell-Fetch with the Cereal Research Centre of Winnipeg and Dr. John McKinnon of the University of Saskatchewan. The session is a general update on the latest oat varieties and oat research, as well as information about newly developed feed oat varieties from Dr. McKinnon.

Another conference highlight will be some spirited debate to close the day: a session called "Face-off Time" with David Drozd of Ag-Chieve Corporation and Randy Strychar with Ag Resources Publishing. "These two bring different, unique insights into the industry," said Dawes. "It should be interesting, because they both managed to be quite close in their predictions this year about the upswing in oats along with other commodities."

Lunch for the day is included with conference registration prices, and there is a special market development being served up: oat pasta and oat soup, courtesy of the efforts of the Saskatchewan Oat Development Commission. The commission looks at all areas of market and research development, but the food market is a natural fit for oats, so conference attendees will be given the chance to sample potential new products.

The conference also features a trade show with exhibits from conference sponsors, including buyers, crop input suppliers and the University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre.

The ninth annual Prairie Oat Growers Association conference takes place at St. Mary's Parish Centre in Yorkton on Thursday, December 7, 2006. The cost to register is $20 per person, which includes lunch. Participants can also register to attend the wrap-up banquet, held at the Yorkton Best Western Hotel, for a cost of $25 per person. A block of rooms for conference participants is reserved at the Yorkton Best Western Hotel. Call 1-800-667-1585 and mention your attendance at the conference to receive a special rate.

For more information, contact:

Jack Dawes
Prairie Oat Growers Association
Phone: (306) 744-2775
E-mail: poga@imagewireless.ca