Innovation Award
The CCA Innovation Award is designed to recognize an individual, group or organization who has demonstrated significant innovation or research within the crop advising field. We are defining “innovation” as a novel advancement or practice that has had significant adoption or impact in Ontario crop production. A nomination can be initiated by a customer, employer, peer, or other associate.
The winner of the Innovation Award will receive $1000, along with a commemorative plaque.
Please download the criteria and nomination form below for more information.
Click here for the Criteria and Nomination Form.
NOMINATIONS FOR 2026 are due by October 31, 2026.
The 2025 Innovation Award was presented to The Great Lakes YEN Program
Awarded at the 2025 CCA Conference and AGM by Chris Roelands from Honeyland Ag Services.
Congratulations to the other 2025 nominees
Jason Deveau
Jason’s work with improving efficiency and knowledge around sprayer technology through his Sprayer 101 videos/podcasts are innovative with humour, props and clear messaging. Jason is currently the Application Technology Specialist at OMAFA
Jason studied biology & psychology at Mount Allison University, plant cell physiology at York University and plant cell electrophysiology at the University of Guelph. Based in Ontario’s Simcoe Resource Centre since 2008, he researches and develops practical methods to optimize productivity, effectiveness, and safety in all agricultural spraying systems. Founder and co-author of “Airblast101 – Your Guide to Effective and Efficient Spraying”, he also founded and has co-administered www.sprayers101.com, the world’s number one resource for agricultural spraying, since 2015.
Jason opens peoples mind to spray information by being a dynamic presenter.
OCC DON Subcommittee
The Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) DON Subcommittee is a multidisciplinary collaboration formed in 2019 in response to a widespread epidemic of select corn diseases in Ontario corn in 2018. The Subcommittee represents a unique partnership between academia, government, industry, and producers, drawing on the expertise of agronomists, pathologists, geneticists, and extension specialists. For the first time in North America, the project established a validated, repeatable field protocol for testing corn hybrid susceptibility to DON accumulation. The following are some key innovative elements:
• Novel protocol design: Corn hybrids are planted across multiple environments, hand-inoculated with Fusarium graminearum, and maintained under misted conditions to ensure consistent disease pressure.
• Collaborations implemented: Protocols, checks, and data review are coordinated by a multi-stakeholder subcommittee.
• Unprecedented data quality and confidence
• Direct grower benefit: The annual reports provide publicly available, unbiased hybrid assessments in terms of susceptibility of DON accumulation.
Dan Oliver
Dan is currently employed by Nortera Foods as the Agronomy, Seed, and Compliance Manager, where his core mandate is to lead our agronomic and seed strategy. In this role, he works with our local agricultural operations and agronomy staff in the regions we operate in across Canada and the US to identify opportunities for productivity gains within our agricultural systems, with a focus on applied agronomy and seed procurement or production.
One of his greatest accomplishments has been building a framework that allows for grower-relevant research to be conducted on the two Nortera research farms near London and Tupperville. For the past 3 years, Dan has been working with OMAFA to execute the “Pea Accelerator Challenge” which follows a similar setup to the Yield Enhancement Network. He is also currently working in collaboration with AAFC, OMAFA, McMaster University and University of Guelph on a project researching fusarium root rot in peas. He is an integral part of this project because he ensures that all components of this work are effectively addressing issues that will provide actual knowledge and solutions that growers will be able to use in the future.
Given the uniqueness of the processing vegetable sector and lack of industry resources, Dan’s work is truly innovative to aid in the advancement of peas, snap beans, sweet corn and lima bean crops. Without Dan, there would only be acceptance of the status quo instead of pushing for further advancements in this sector.
The first Innovation Award was presented to Rob Miller at the 2024 Conference and AGM. .
The Innovation Award is sponsored by Honeyland Ag Services.
