This year marks 50 years since Baldur Stefansson of the University of Manitoba registered Tower, the first canola variety that had oil low in erucic acid and meal low in glucosinolates. Stefansson couldn’t have predicted in 1974 the juggernaut the western Canadian canola industry would become. Other stories in the Canola Yearbook 2024: This year, […] Read more
Tag Archives Canola Yearbook 2024
Shrinking production estimate supports canola bids
Canada loses market share to Australia in traditional markets such as Japan, Mexico and the European Union
Canola futures traded in the range of $600 to $700 per tonne for the first 10 months of 2024. It was a wild ride with fund managers holding the reins. They held a net short position in canola futures the entire time, keeping a lid on prices. Other stories in the Canola Yearbook 2024: Their […] Read more
Canola goals must be reassessed to match market reality
Canada’s canola sector is struggling to reach its goal of producing 26 million tonnes of the oilseed by 2025. The current estimate of this year’s canola crop is 18.98 million tonnes, and the sector has failed to make much headway since posting the largest crop ever in 2017 at 21.46 million tonnes. Other stories in […] Read more
Canola growing season in review
The 2024 canola growing season was a tale of two distinct seasons. The April through June period resulted in a dramatic improvement in growing conditions from the past few years. The July through August period was very stressful and caused yield potential in canola to drop dramatically. The rain during the first half of the […] Read more
Canola remains a Prairie economic powerhouse
Canola continues to contribute to Canada’s economy in a big way, according to a new study. It generated an estimated $22.54 billion in direct economic activity in 2022-23, which is slightly more than double the impact from a decade earlier. Other stories in the Canola Yearbook 2024: The sector supported more than 60,000 jobs and […] Read more
Bill C-234 ping pongs between Senate and House
Canola growers must identify at least a little with the quote famously attributed to Yogi Berra: It’s déjà vu all over again. At this time last year, they were among the many farmers hoping for Bill C-234 to pass and provide exemptions from carbon pricing for natural gas and propane used to dry grain. Other […] Read more
The future of gene editing in canola
New research could lead to higher-yielding varieties better suited to a warming climate
An unexpected side effect of gene editing research at the University of Guelph could pay dividends for canola breeders in the years ahead. The discovery stemmed from research that began in 2016. The research examined how carbohydrate metabolism is affected in Arabidopsis when substituting one of its genes with the corresponding gene from a corn […] Read more
Canola views – photo essay
Photos submitted via X. Other stories in the Canola Yearbook 2024:
Canola and climate change in Western Canada
Canola cropping patterns in the Prairies may have to adapt to climate change in the coming years, but the changes should be relatively positive for production. Canola area continues to be the leader in Western Canada with a total of 21.9 million acres sown this year according to Statistics Canada. This is more than 3.2 […] Read more
Tiny allies may help withstand drought
Agriculture Canada researchers are examining soil microbes to find out if they can help canola withstand dry times
After multiple years with insufficient moisture and yet another dry summer in 2024, it’s become painfully obvious that Canada’s canola industry needs varieties with improved drought tolerance. That’s not an easy task for breeders. It is a complicated trait that involves dozens of genes, signals and processes within a plant. There isn’t a magic gene […] Read more
