The next "Speaking of Oats..." webinar will be on October 21st at 11:00 am EDT. Axel Diederichsen (Plant Gene Resources of Canada, AAFC) will be speaking to us about "The impact of global changes on oat conservation and exchange at Plant Gene Resources of Canada". This presentation will include information about legal requirements set out in what is commonly known as the Plant Treaty (ITPGRFA, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture). Registration is NOW OPEN! You can check the time offset for your location here.

The video from September's "SOO..." webinar will be posted soon. Many thanks to Shahryar Kianian, Oluseyi Fajolu, and Eric Nazareno for an excellent session and to Keith Armstrong from New Zealand and Laura Ziems from Australia for attending that and other "SOO..." webinars in person in the middle of the night!

In other "SOO..." news, a new steering committee has been created to help find speakers for the series. Each member will serve for one year in this capacity. Many thanks for taking this on to:

• Steffen Beuch (NORDSAAT, Germany)
• Jason Fiedler (USDA-ARS, USA)
• Catherine Howarth (IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK)
• Bryan Jorgensen (Jorgensen Farms, SD, USA)
• Shawna Mathieson (Prairie Oat Growers Association, Canada)
• Rachel Nash (Grains Industry of Western Australia, Australia)
• Emilia Nordlund (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland), and
• Tyr Weisnerhanks (PepsiCo, USA)

We are also relying on you, the members of the oat community, to help us find speakers that represent the entire oat value chain. We especially invite nominations of presenters who collectively represent the global importance of oats and who underscore the contributions of the diverse, multi-faceted composition of our community. Please submit your suggestions using our NEW FORM. You are also still welcome to contact Oat Global Director Jim Bradeen (jbradeen@umn.edu) or me (Charlene Wight, charlene.wight@agr.gc.ca or oatnewsletter@gmail.com) at any time. Thank you!

The information above can also be found on the "SOO…" newsletter page, which can also be accessed by using the "Speaking of Oats..." button on the left hand side of any page in the newsletter.

In terms of other events, October 10th is World Porridge Day! The 28th Annual Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship is being held virtually again this year, and the results of the competition will be posted on their website on Sunday.

October 11th is the deadline to register for the "Plant Genomes in a Changing Environment" virtual conference this month. It is also Thanksgiving for me and my fellow Canadians. I will be giving thanks for many things, including the support of this wonderful community. Happy Thanksgiving!