By Anna Scharf
The 2017 canola harvest in the Willamette Valley will be remembered as cold and wet – not ideal canola-growing conditions. But for regional canola growers, such conditions represent an important opportunity to grow a beneficial rotation crop.
The Northern Canola Growers Association (NCGA) has been hard at work over the past few years to expand research and initiatives supporting canola in the Northern Plains. It allocates a significant portion of its funds to public research in canola in areas of highest importance to growers.
Omega-3 fatty acids are in high demand. Research has shown that some of their nutritional benefits include decreasing triglycerides and the risk of abnormal heartbeats, even slightly lowering blood pressure levels. But the heightened demand continues to pressure wild fish populations that are harvested to produce fish meal and fish oil for aquafeed – these are the primary sources of omega-3 fatty acids used to grow healthy (and tasty) salmon. That’s where Cargill, BASF Plant Science and Montana agriculture come in.
The increase in canola oil use is well documented, but U.S. production has not kept pace with consumption. Luckily, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and canola industry are engaged in supporting research to improve canola productivity and profitability in ways that will lead to expanded production around the country. At a 2017 U.S. Canola Association meeting, NIFA facilitated a half-day workshop showing off USDA and other agency research advancing canola production. The NIFA Supplemental and Alternative Crops Competitive Grants Program has helped canola researchers address needs in all regions across the nation. Work includes testing germplasm and breeding superior performing varieties; developing new commercial products from canola; and innovating new production, harvest and processing methods for production systems that include canola. There is a focus on getting results to commercial users as soon as possible, so NIFA’s involvement with stakeholders in setting priorities, project development and product delivery is required.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the availability of up to $766,000 for fundamental and applied research to help develop and share new commercial canola varieties and products, and expand the crop’s growing regions. This funding is made available through NIFA’s Supplemental and Alternative Crops Competitive (SACC) grants program.
Not long after joining the Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems (WOCS) project at Washington State University 10 years ago, I had the good fortune of meeting a farmer in eastern Washington who had been growing canola for more than 20 years. This farmer told me about an effort in the mid-90s – when production was finally gaining some steam – to create a Pacific Northwest (PNW) canola and rapeseed association. However, that effort ‘faded away’after several years. The idea resurfaced five years ago, but again, did not go anywhere. All the while, acreage in the PNW continued an upward trend.
Don’t look now, but more yellow flowers may be popping up across Kansas, and they are not of the sunflower variety, which is the official state flower.
Based on the number of phone calls and emails I received this summer, I fully expect winter canola acres to rebound substantially for the 2017 crop year. Many producers said the price of wheat led them to their decision to plant canola, but I quickly reminded them that there are many benefits to rotating to canola including greater wheat yields, better weed control options and growing consumer demand for the oil.
The 2016 canola harvest has all but wrapped up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and it was another good year – fields averaged 3,000 pounds per acre and one grower exceeded 5,000 pounds per acre. But more importantly, it was another year of successful rotational crops for Willamette Valley farmers.
Interest in canola as a rotation crop in the cereal-dominated cropping systems of the Pacific Northwest continues to increase, particularly with depressed wheat prices, and with steady demand from the Pacific Coast Canola processing facility in Warden, Wash. The Crucifer Quarantine enacted last fall, however, has prompted many questions and requests for advice about blackleg from growers and industry. In response to concerns, faculty at the Washington State University-based Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems Project developed a handout to distribute at field tours. The guide includes concise information about the current status of blackleg in Washington, the Crucifer Quarantine requirements, scouting for blackleg, and photos of blackleg symptoms from fields in Idaho and Oregon.
While many policy matters are on idle as we enter the heat of summer and this election year, biodiesel policy issues are not slowing down.
On May 27, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the proposed rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements, including the volume requirements for biomass-based diesel for 2018 and the total advanced biofuels volumes for 2017 and 2018.