Canola industry officials and plant breeders have endorsed a plan to boost the average oil content of the crop by 1.2 percentage points over the next five years.
However, they have deferred a decision on a related proposal to pay farmers based on the quality characteristics of the seed they deliver, including oil content.
At last week’s annual meeting of the Western Canada Canola-Rapeseed Recommending Committee, members approved three changes to the registration guidelines for breeders developing new canola varieties:
- Increase average oil content by 1.2 percent over the next five years. The first year will remain status quo, with targeted increases of 0.3 percentage points in each of the next four years.
- Reduce protein content by at least one percent over the same period.
- Reduce the glucosinolate levels by around 10 percent.
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The proposal to review the quality criteria for new canola varieties, including oil content, was first brought up when the committee met last year.
After analyzing the idea for several months, a special industry committee recommended in November the three changes that were adopted last week.
Dave Hickling, vice-president of the Canola Council of Canada, said the feedback from plant breeders to the initial proposal was that if oil content was to be increased, other components of the seed would have to be reduced.
“There’s only so much room in the seed,” he said.
After consultations with the feed industry, it was determined that a slight reduction in protein and glucosinolate levels would have no negative impact on meal quality, paving the way for the approved changes.
Hickling said there’s no question the changes will provide a net benefit to the industry.
While oil makes up 43 to 45 percent of the canola seed by volume, it accounts for around 80 percent of the seed’s value.
The rule of thumb is that a one percentage point increase in oil content translates into an additional $5.50 to $6 a tonne in seed value. Based on a 10 million tonne crop, that works out to $60 million in extra revenue.
He added the industry doesn’t want to stop at the 1.2 percent target.
“Our recommendation is to revisit the issue and look for continued increases down the road.”
A component-based payment system, providing premiums or discounts based on oil content, moisture and chlorophyll levels, is also seen as a way to boost oil output.
The idea is that if farmers’ payments reflect oil content, they will have an incentive to plant high-oil varieties.
“If we add oil content and even moisture to new varieties, they will have opportunities to select those varieties that will give them the highest revenue per acre,” Hickling said.
There’s little else growers can do to influence oil content, which is largely a function of variety and weather.
Hickling said the payment proposal is just an item for industry discussion at the moment, and it will be a couple of years at the earliest before any such change could be implemented.
