On July 5, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2020-21 for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels that provide little to no growth from current levels. Moreover, the agency’s proposed legislation does not address small refinery exemptions. Both items will result in a reduction of domestic biodiesel production. The U.S. Canola Association will continue its efforts in coordination with the National Biodiesel Board to support growth for U.S. biodiesel, including public comments on increasing RFS volumes in hopes of improving the final legislation.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has proposed reducing counter-vailing duties (CVD) on imports of unfairly subsidized biodiesel from Argentina. If confirmed in September 2019, CVD will be reduced from 72 to 10 percent, while anti-dumping rates will remain at 75 percent. But when applied to CVD, these rates will average 85 percent.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced July 25 details of the $16 billion package aimed at supporting American farmers while the Trump Administration continues to work on trade deals. Market Facilitation Program (MFP) sign-up at local Farm Service Agency offices will be available until Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. MFP payments will be made in up to three tranches, with the first beginning in mid-to-late August as the higher of either 50 percent of a producer’s calculated payment or $15 per acre. The second and third tranches will be evaluated as market conditions and trade opportunities dictate and paid in November and early January, respectively. Find payment rates for counties and application forms online.

Growers near Pullman, Wash., can take advantage of a harvest loss pan from the Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems (WOCS) of Washington State University. Growers are welcome to borrow the pan to reduce any seed loss by weighing seeds to determine the loss per acre and enabling growers to make adjustments to limit future loss. Interested? Contact Karen Sowers at ksowers@wsu.edu. Growers are also encouraged to share any harvest photos or yield results with her (yield information will remain confidential). Sowers can also assist if your business is on the seed supplier list and you need to update product information.

If you attended the WOCS oilseed workshop in Wilbur, Wash, in January 2019, there is now more information on harvesting strategies. Jesse Brunner, who gave the presentation on this topic, has compiled a list of harvest- and combine-related information. Send an email to jesse.brunner@gmail.com with “Canola” (no punctuation) in the subject line to receive that list. As always, check out the WSU-WOCS and PNW Canola Association website and Facebook page to stay up to date on canola in the Pacific Northwest.

Recently, women’s magazine Refinery29 took an in-depth look at the healthiest oils to use when cooking. Canola oil is credited for being high in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat as well as having a high smoke point (heat tolerance).

Growers in Canada are allocating more land for barley, corn, dry peas, lentils and oats and fewer acres for canola, wheat, and soybeans in 2019, according to Statistics Canada. The survey showed that Canadian canola acres are down 8 percent this year from 2018 due to lower prices resulting from China’s ban on canola imports from Canada. After the arrest of senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in December, Beijing halted imports of Canadian canola seeds, alleging they discovered pests in two shipments. No agreement has yet been reached between the two countries.

Royal DSM, a Dutch company active in nutrition, health and sustainable living, and Avril, a French agro-industrial group, are working together to produce a non-GMO canola protein for human consumption. The companies are developing a production facility fully dedicated to canola protein in Dieppe, France. They hope the product can be used as a dairy or meat alternative and to supplement food products.

Mark your calendars! The Northern Canola Growers Association will hold its 13^th Annual Canola Research Conference on Thursday, Nov. 7 in Fargo, N.D., in the Alumni Center of North Dakota State University. Canola researchers from the region will present their 2019 findings.

Canadian Burcon NutraScience Corporation announced it entered into a joint venture with an investor group to build a new CDN $65 million pea- and canola-protein commercial production facility in Western Canada. The plant will be the world’s first commercial, food-grade canola protein production facility, producing Supertein^®, Puratein^® and Nutratein^® canola proteins. The facility is expected to open in 2020.

In three consumer lawsuits against Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, judges significantly reduced punitive damages due to guidelines set by the U.S. Supreme Court. Most recently, a judge cut a jury award to an elderly California couple from $2.055 billion to $87 million. In each case, Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer was deemed the cause of non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma. But there is still no scientific evidence linking glyphosate to cancer. Bayer will appeal the $87 million award.

The U.S. Canola Association (USCA) relaunched UScanola.com on July 15. It gave the website a facelift, updated its content and made it mobile phone-friendly. Check out UScanola.com for a modern look and current information about all things canola from its roots to oil and meal.

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The USCA fall board of directors’ meeting will be Tuesday-Friday, Nov. 12-15 in Spokane, Wash., at The Historic Davenport Hotel. The meeting will kick-off at a reception in the late afternoon on Tuesday, with the board meeting all day Wednesday, and a tour of Viterra’s processing plant in Warden followed by a farm reception on Thursday. On Friday morning, the USCA and new Pacific Northwest Canola Association will conduct a tri-state panel discussion on regional canola production. Registration is online and hotel rooms should be booked under the USCA group rate by Oct. 18.