Canola Remains Strong In The PNW

Canola continues to perform very well for Northwest growers.

“Demand is definitely still there, whether the end product is livestock meal, consumer edible oil, or oil that's going to be used for renewable fuels,” noted Karen Sowers, Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Canola Association.

She said the numbers prove the popularity of the crop.  The Inland Northwest, she noted, is growing over 300,000 acres of canola annually, and that’s in addition to the acres being grown in Montana.  And prices make canola an attractive crop for many local growers.

“It's not necessarily at its high by any means, but when you're comparing it to 1980 wheat prices, it just pencils out," Sowers said.  "The return on investment of canola is ahead of wheat for most growers in most regions.  That's compared to the comparative to winter wheat/winter canola or spring wheat/spring canola or spring barley/spring canola.  It's stayed steady, low 20 cents per pound ish is what it's been staying at and again if you if you have on-farm storage or have the ability to store and look further ahead for better prices, that's a that's a good move.”

Learn more about the PNW Canola Association by visiting the Association's Website.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com