U.S. Canola Association

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Developing Canola as an Alternative Crop in the Southern Great Plains

By Girisha Ganjegunte, Ph.D.

A multi-disciplinary (agronomy, soil science, plant physiology, engineering, and economics), multi-institutional and multi-location study is underway to evaluate the potential to adapt and increase acreage of canola in southern New Mexico and far west Texas using alternative irrigation water sources. This goal directly aligns with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Supplemental and Alternative Crops competitive grants program, namely expanded adaptation and increased acreage of U.S. of canola. Texas A&M University received funding through this program to: 1) Identify salt-tolerant cultivars of canola; 2) evaluate performance (physiological response and yield) of salt-tolerant canola cultivar(s) irrigated with marginal quality water irrigation; 3) determine changes to soil properties, including salinity, to develop appropriate and best management practices; and (4) evaluate the economic feasibility of producing winter canola with marginal water. Read More »

Winter Canola Improvements Spur Future Growth in the Great Plains

Mike Stamm, canola breederBy Mike Stamm

Improving high-yielding and regionally adapted winter canola varieties, advancing canola cropping systems, and delivering new technologies and production practices to growers are priorities of the project “Development and Management of Canola in the Great Plains Region” supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This project is led by researchers and extension specialists from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska and New Mexico. Read More »

National Nutrition Month Informs How to Eat Healthfully and Affordably

By Angela Dansby

Maintaining a healthy diet is important for our physical and mental well-being. Contrary to popular belief, eating healthfully is affordable. It especially pays off long-term by helping prevent costly health care.

To help people eat healthfully and affordably, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) offers tips and resources as part of its National Nutrition Month® campaign. This March marks the campaign’s 50th anniversary. Read More »

U.S. Canola Producers Important to Growing Bioplastics Industry

By Phil Van Trump

The world’s plastic waste crisis continues to grow every year, with the rate of plastic production increasing from 3.9 billion pounds in 1950 to an eye-popping 800 billion pounds in 2018. According to The Atlantic magazine, nearly half of all plastic worldwide that has ever been manufactured was created after the year 2004.

While recycling efforts have potential and are worthy of support, the truth is they currently have limited effectiveness and can only chip away at the edges of this problem. More than 85 percent of U.S. plastic waste went to landfills in 2021, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Danimer Scientific envisions an alternative path to reducing our world’s use of petroleum-based plastic — and U.S. canola producers are a key partner in bringing our vision to reality. Nodax®, our signature polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), is created using a 100 percent renewable and sustainable process that starts with bacteria fed oils derived from canola and other plants. The process is similar to the natural fermentation method that’s used to create wine, mead and beer. Read More »

Will Canola Oil Use Take Off With New EPA Approval?

By J. Alan Weber

The second half of 2022 provided U.S. canola producers quite a bit of optimism regarding new demand opportunities in the biofuels market. It began with the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, a government-wide effort to reach 3 billion gallons per year of domestically produced renewable jet production with at least a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Then, on Dec. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final determination that canola oil-based renewable diesel, SAF, naphtha, heating oil, and liquified petroleum gas (propane) met the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction requirement of at least 50 percent under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to qualify as advanced biofuels. In fact, the EPA final rule conservatively estimated a reduction of 67 percent for canola renewable diesel compared to petroleum-based diesel and similar reductions for the other biofuels. Read More »

FY2023 Agriculture Appropriations Favorable to Canola

By Tom Hance

They took it right up until Christmas Eve, but Congress passed an omnibus appropriations package to fund government programs for fiscal year 2023. The package totals $1.7 trillion with $858 billion in defense funding, including $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies, and $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs. For agriculture, the bill includes discretionary funding of $25.48 billion. The Continuing Resolution (CR), which keeps the government operating at FY2022 levels, was set to expire Dec. 23 so the new appropriations package came just in the (saint) nick of time! Following are provisions of interest to the canola sector:

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EPA Fuels Debate on Renewable Fuel Standard Volumes

Tom Hance, Gordley AssociatesBy Tom Hance

On Dec. 1, 2022, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) pathways for canola oil-based renewable diesel and related biofuels, it also issued a proposed rule for Required Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2023-25. While biomass-based diesel (BBD) RFS volumes have largely been at the EPA’s discretion, this is the first time the agency has control of all RFS volumes and will set them for three years forward. Up to 2022, RFS volumes were set by legislative statute and implemented annually by the EPA.  Read More »

Record U.S. Canola Production in 2022

By Angela Dansby and Dale Thorenson

U.S. canola had record production this year, up a whopping 45 percent from 2021, according to the Oct. 12 crop report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Nearly 2.2 million acres were harvested with an average yield of 1,826 pounds per acre, resulting in 3.95 billion pounds of canola.

Looking back 30 years at NASS records, U.S. canola production has grown in spite of ebbs and flows, increasing more than 95 percent from 191 million pounds to nearly 4 billion. Yield has been erratic with several big dips (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2021) influenced by Mother Nature, however, production well outpaced yields during those years. More importantly, canola genetic traits have continued to improve, largely driving the 500-pound/acre increase since 1991, when yield was only 1,300 pounds per acre. Read More »