By Brian Caldbeck
Consumer trends in recent years have resulted in retails sales of organic foods in the United States reaching $50 billion in 2020, according to the Organic Trade Association. Despite cooking oils derived from multiple crops, including canola, representing a tiny fraction of these sales, consumer interest in organic canola oil has encouraged the food industry to source organically produced canola from farmers.
By Rob Rynning
I farm in the very northwest corner of Minnesota with my brother and nephew. We have grown canola since 1994 and gained many benefits from this very interesting and beautiful crop. Read More »
By Luis Del Rio Mendoza, Ph.D.
Through a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, North Dakota State University (NDSU) worked on improving spring canola varieties and conducted agronomic research on the crop. Nitrogen applications and clubroot management were examined. Read More »
By Kurtis Schroeder, Ph.D.
Crop options are limited in the wheat-dominated dryland areas of the inland Pacific Northwest (PNW) and few rotation crops return a profit similar to winter wheat. However, canola is adapted to the PNW and both spring and winter canola can be grown profitably in the region. Canola adds several benefits in rotation with cereal crops, including reduced plant disease, additional weed control and management options, and in the case of winter canola, increased water infiltration. As a result, a multistate project in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana is being funded by a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The goals are to develop regionally adapted canola cultivars and advance agronomic practices to optimize canola performance, thereby increasing regional canola acreage.
By Mike Stamm
Developing and evaluating high-yielding and regionally adapted winter canola cultivars, improving canola cropping systems, and delivering new technologies and 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). It includes researchers in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska and New Mexico. Read More »
By Carol J. Burns, MPH, PhD and Daland R. Juberg, PhD
Cancer affects about 20 million people globally, accounting for one in six deaths (World Health Organization 2020). As we age, our individual risk of acquiring cancer increases. Farmers are no exception despite having lower cancer rates overall than the general population (Agricultural Health Study and AGRICAN). Read More »
Ever wonder how canola oil stacks up against other edible oils? In honor of National Nutrition Month and March Madness, let’s size up the “competition,” starting with the weak challengers:
Coconut oil: Often erroneously touted for so-called health benefits, this high saturated fat (87%!) contender is solid at room temperature. That’s a good indication of what it will do to your arteries! This is why the U.S. government recommends cooking with liquid vegetable oils like canola in place of solid fats such as coconut oil, butter, shortening or lard. Read More »
By Tom Hance
President Biden comes into office with an immediate focus on managing the COVID-19 pandemic and enacting response and relief measures to mitigate its impacts. Some aspects can be achieved through executive orders, while others – such as providing additional assistance to individuals and hard-hit entities – will require legislative action by Congress, which is an uncertain proposition. Aside from managing the pandemic, Biden’s focus will be on restoring stability (both domestically and with trade and foreign affairs), enacting a major infrastructure initiative (which dovetails into coronavirus response and recovery), and addressing climate change on numerous fronts. What does this mean for agriculture and canola? Read More »
By Angela Dansby
“Marty, whatever happens, don’t ever go to 2020,” read a WhatApp joke in reference to the movie “Back to the Future.”
No lie. This year was one most of us would like to forget. But there are some good news stories worth remembering. For example, Farm Rescue recently came to the rescue of a North Dakota farmer hospitalized with COVID-19. Read More »
By Mike Stamm, M.S.
Developing and evaluating high-yielding and regionally adapted winter canola cultivars, improving canola cropping systems, and delivering new technologies and practices to growers are NIFA project priorities in the Great Plains. This project includes the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska and New Mexico. Read More »