International Oat Conferences/Hosts

September, 2023

Several new countries now have representatives on the IOC committee! Some countries have also designated backup representatives. The new list can be found here.

May, 2023

The IOC country representatives have voted, and Pucón, Chile, has been selected to host the 2026 International Oat Conference (12th IOC). Congratulations to the Chilean group, headed by Karina von Baer! You can find a message from Karina here.

Both the German and Chilean groups submitted excellent, high-quality bids, and the IOC committee would like to thank them for all of their time and effort. The vote was *very* close, so the German group is being encouraged to submit a bid to host the 13th IOC meeting in 2030!

A link to the website for the 2026 conference will be posted here once it has been set up.

October, 2022

The 11th IOC (OAT2022) in Perth, Australia, has now concluded. Many thanks to the organizing committee for a job well done! A link to the OAT2022 website is provided in the list of previous IOC hosts below.

A link to the minutes of the business meeting is here. Steffen Beuch (NORDSAAT Saatzucht GmbH, Germany) was elected chair of the 12th IOC committee and Charlene Wight (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada) was elected secretary.

     A message from Steffen Beuch:

     “I am proud and grateful to have been elected as the new Chair of the International Oat Conference. Charlene and I will both do our very best over the next years to guide the committee and keep the global oat community together. Times are challenging for all of us. The Global economy is stressed, hunger is becoming a problem again, and climate change is continuing at a rapid pace. However, I am sure that the oat crop can be a valuable part of the solutions to those problems. For this reason, input from everyone in the oat community is needed. Oats are unique and irreplaceable!

     We pass along our greatest thanks to the organizers of the 11th IOC in Perth for hosting an excellent event. It was very challenging to organize because of Covid-19 related problems and postponement.”

Two locations are competing to host the 12th IOC in 2026: Berlin, Germany, and Pucón, Chile. The IOC country representatives will vote for one of those locations after consultations with their constituents. Videos of the bid presentations made during the 11th IOC business meeting and the accompanying slides are below:

Chilean bid:

German bid:

 

IOC Committee structure

As of October 13th, 2022, the IOC chair is Steffen Beuch (NORDSAAT Saatzucht GmbH, Germany) and the secretary is Charlene Wight (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada). The list of country representatives is here.

 

Previous International Oat Conferences/Hosts: