"We are pleased to announce that registration for the 2018 American Oat Workers Conference to be held June 19-21, 2018 in Seattle, Washington is now open! In addition to on-line registration, the conference website presents some important dates, details about the meeting venue Motif Seattle, and will be updated with additional information as it becomes available.

Some of the purposes of this meeting are to disseminate current research, discuss regional and continental problems of oat improvement, encourage the exchange and preservation of germplasm, and introduce planned cultivar releases. A key component will be a field tour to view germplasm contributed by oat breeders around the globe. Because of the maritime climate in this region, we plan on both a fall and spring planting. We hope this will encourage oat breeders to submit a broad range of their advanced oat lines and have contracted 2 full acres with the Washington State University Mount Vernon Research and Extension Center to allow for 4-row, 4 ft plots. Below are detailed instructions for submitting germplasm and sending seed. Please don’t hesitate to call or email with questions.

Sincerely,

Kathy Esvelt Klos, kathy.klos@ars.usda.gov, (208) 397-4162

Rick Jellen, rick_jellen@byu.edu, (801) 422-7279

Germplasm intended for fall planting:

• 1. Please let us know by email as soon as possible if you intend to submit fall-planted lines.
• 2. We will need to have seed in Aberdeen, Idaho by October 1, 2017.
• 3. Please send 12-15g seed per entry. A phytosanitary certificate should be included, but a permit is not required for shipment of A. sativa to the U.S.

Germplasm intended for spring planting:

• 1. Please let us know by January 1, 2018 if you intend to submit spring-planted lines.
• 2. We will need to have seed in Aberdeen, Idaho by March 15, 2018.
• 3. Please send 12-15g seed per entry. A phytosanitary certificate should be included, but a permit is not required for shipment of A. sativa to the U.S."

AOWC Committee structure

The list of Executive Committee members is here.

The draft minutes from the Ottawa meeting are here.

Previous American Oat Workers Conferences/Hosts:

• 2014 Ottawa, ON, Canada (ECORC, AAFC)
  • AOWC Presentations
• 2010 Baton Rouge, LA, USA (LSU)
• 2006 Fargo, ND, USA (NDSU)
• 2002 Wilmington, NC, USA (NC State)
• 1998 Winnipeg, MB, Canada (CRC, AAFC)
• 1994 Minneapolis, MN, USA (UMN)
• 1990 Jackson Hole, WY, USA (USDA-ARS, Aberdeen)
• 1986 Ottawa, ON, Canada (PRC, Agriculture Canada)
• 1982 State College, PA, USA (Penn State) (was also the first International Oat Conference)
• 1978 College Station, TX, USA (Texas A&M)
• 1974 Ames, IA, USA (ISU)
• 1970 Raleigh, NC, USA (NC State)
• 1966 East Lansing, MI, USA (MSU)
• 1962 Gainesville, FL, USA (U. Florida) (The 1962 volume of the Newsletter outlines the history of the National Oat Conference from 1946-1963.)
• 1958 Lafayette, IN, USA (Purdue U.) (This was the first National Oat Conference meeting.)