About The Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC)

The Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC) acts as the recommending body to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for cereal variety registration in Ontario.

The OCCC also coordinates cereal performance testing, dissemination of the results and reviews cereal-related research to facilitate its coordination. The voting membership of the OCCC consists of one representative of each of the following organizations representing the cereal industry in Ontario: Grain Farmers of Ontario; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; OMAFRA; Ontario Agri Business Association; Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association; Ontario Seed Growers Association; Seeds Canada; Canadian National Millers Association; and the University of Guelph. 

Roles 

The role of the Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC) is to: 

• Act as the recommending body to The Canadian Food Inspection Agency for cereal variety registration in Ontario. OCCC also advises The Canadian Food Inspection Agency Variety Registration Office (CFIA) as to whether registration of wheat varieties should be extended to Ontario if the variety has been supported for registration outside of Ontario. 
• Coordinate cereal performance testing and dissemination of the results. 
• Review cereal-related research (public and private) to facilitate its coordination. Part of this role leads to the inclusion of new information in the OMAFRA Agronomy Guide (publication 811). 
• The crops for which OCCC holds this mandate are: Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye, Spelt, Buckwheat, Durum and Triticale 
• The OCCC has no authority outside of Ontario. 
• The Ontario Cereal Crops Committee meets three times each year. 
• In late August, the committee meets to review the results of the current year’s winter cereals performance trials, edit the public performance trials report and make any necessary revisions to the testing procedures for winter cereals for the coming year. 
• In late October, the committee meets to review the results of the current year’s spring cereals performance trials and edit the public performance trials report. 
• Other urgent business may also be dealt with at the August and October meetings as required. 
• The committee meets again in mid-January to consider applications for support of registration of candidate cultivars for all crops within the committee’s mandate. In addition, the OCCC reviews its testing methods and procedures for support of registration, as necessary, receives reports from its member organizations, and conducts any other such business as is necessary for the effective operation of the committee and variety trials. 

In addition, the committee is served by the following non-voting members: