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USCA Blog

Here are timely updates about issues impacting the canola sector. Subscribe to Canola Quick Bytes for notifications of new blog posts.

Congress Moves Forward on Infrastructure Bill and Social Reconciliation Package

Tom Hance, Gordley AssociatesBy Tom Hance

At last, it happened: The Senate passed its $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill by a vote of 69-30. The U.S. Canola Association joined 37 other agricultural groups in a letter to Congressional leadership in support of this bill, which would invest $110 billion in U.S. roads and bridges, $65 billion for broadband, and $17.3 billion for ports and inland waterways. In addition, this bipartisan agreement includes a number of provisions designed to boost the resiliency of the agricultural supply chain, including investments in cybersecurity and programs to address truck driver shortages. Read More »

RMA Authorizes Emergency Procedures to Help Drought-Impacted Producers

By Tom Hance

On July 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the authorization of emergency procedures to help producers impacted by extreme drought conditions. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas. These new crop insurance flexibilities are part of USDA’s broader response to help producers impacted by drought in the west, northern Great Plains, Caribbean and other areas. Read More »

Organic Canola Production: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Farmers

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.

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Canola Cultivars Progress in North Central Region

Luis del Rio-MendozaBy 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 »

Advances in Canola Breeding and Agronomy in Pacific Northwest

Kurtis Schroeder, PhD, University of IdahoBy 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.

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‘Summery’ Winter Canola Development in Great Plains

Mike Stamm, canola breederBy 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 »

March Madness: Dietary Oil Play-Offs

Canola oil bottles. Credit: Canola Council of CanadaEver 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 »

Outlook for Agriculture and Canola Under the Biden Administration

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 »