canola

Canola debate in Oregon's Willamette Valley: balancing farmer interests with concerns of specialty seed growers and legislative decisions.

Amidst the amber waves of wheat changing to stubble, green corn leaves to brown, and the fields of potatoes and onions pulled from the ground, the golden crop of canola has changed to stems and is prepared for harvest as well.

With warmer weather in the long-term forecast, growers are planning for the season ahead.  Karen Sowers, Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Canola Association saw while canola seed is produced across much of the western Hemisphere; in the U.S., ...

The Pacific Northwest Canola Association will hold their annual workshop Wednesday, January 25th, at the University Inn in Moscow, ID.  Karen Sowers, Executive Director of the PNWCA, said this year’s event will be slightly different, with several strong speakers and presenters in the morning, with the afternoon focused on more Q&A sessions.  She noted while c...

The Canola Week Conference has been an annual December event since 1970 and was held again last month in Saskatoon.  The conference founder, Dr. Keith Downey, was in attendance again this year.  Downey is known worldwide throughout the agriculture and agri-food industries as one of two research scientists behind the development of canola. Dr. Keit...

The value of Washington’s 2021 agricultural production totaled $10.2 billion, a slight increase from the 2020 figure.  According to NASS, the value of Washington’s crop production in 2021 was $7.21 billion, down 3% year-over-year.  Meanwhile, the...

As we move into the 2nd half of October and harvest picks up, the 2022 crop numbers are a mixed bag.   According to NASS, Washington canola production is forecast at 231 million pounds, up 62% year-over-year.  Harvested area, at 130,000 acres, is unchanged from 2021.  Yield i...

The canola crop in the Northwest is making a comeback after last year's drought.  PNW Canola reports 2022 yields were up from the previous drought year, but still lower than average.  It's not clear at this point why the crop is making a sluggish recovery, or whether it's a long-term impact from the two-year drought.  This past summer ...

Canola growers are welcoming the EPA's proposed determination that canola oil-derived renewable diesel and other newer biofuels qualify as advanced biofuels. Last week, the EPA, as part of the announcement of summertime E15 sales this year, proposed using canola oil-derived fuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard ...

Karen Sowers, Executive Director of the PNW Canola Association anticipates that despite the weather challenges of 2021, canola acreage will increase this growing season. She noted that more and more producers are learning of the benefits of canola beyond being a rotational crop ...