U.S. Canola Digest November-December 2013

November • December 2013

The official publication of the U.S. Canola Association and Northern Canola Growers Association

Government Shutdown Pushes Off Farm Bill ‘Oil is Well’ with Consumers Battle of the Ban in Willamette Valley

CANOLA OIL’S FUTURE SHINES BRIGHT WORLDWIDE

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NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2013 VOL. 8, NO. 4

WWW.USCANOLA.COM EXECUTIVE EDITOR Angela Dansby angela@uscanola.com

features

MANAGING EDITOR Alison Neumer Lara alison@uscanola.com

6

Viewpoint: Congressional Face-off

ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR Brittany Farb brittany@uscanola.com

Fight Over Shutdown, Debt Ceiling Pushes Farm Bill Aside

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cretia Ariail; Barry Coleman; Sheri Coleman, B.S.N., R.N.; Jon Dockter; John Gordley; Mattie Quinn; Ron Sholar; Karen Sowers; and Dale Thorenson PUBLISHERS Barry Coleman coleman@ndpci.com

12

7

Raising Stakes for Agricultural Biotechnology State Labeling Laws and Regulatory Delays Pose Challenges

John Gordley john@uscanola.com SALES REPRESENTATIVE Mary O’Donohue modonohue@gordley.com

12

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Melissa Rosenquist melissa.rosenquist@gmail.com

Canola Oil on Trend with Chefs, Home Cooks and the Health-Conscious

‘Oil is Well’

PUBLISHED BY U.S. Canola Association 600 Pennsylvania, SE, Suite 320 Washington, DC 20003 tel: 202.969.8113 • fax: 202.969.7036 www.uscanola.com Northern Canola Growers Association 2718 Gateway Ave, #301 Bismarck, ND 58503 tel: 701.223.4124 • fax: 701.223.4130 www.northerncanola.com

14

Globetrotting with Canola Oil 14

Trends Show International Promise and Opportunity

18

Battle of the Ban

REGIONAL AFFILIATES Great Lakes Canola Association www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/canola

With Temporary Production Freeze, Canola Debate Continues in Willamette Valley

Great Plains Canola Association www.greatplainscanola.com Minnesota Canola Council www.mncanola.org

U.S. Canola Digest is published four times a year in January/February, March/April, September/October and November/December by the U.S. Canola Association (USCA) and Northern Canola Growers Association (NCGA). Subscription is complementary to all USCA and NCGA members and other qualified members of the U.S. canola industry. Reproduction of contents is forbidden. Copyright 2013.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Northern Canola Growers Association, 2718 Gateway Ave., #301, Bismarck, ND 58503.

18 departments on the cover Trends show a bright and promising for canola oil around the world.

4 6 10 21 23

Editors’ Letter USCA Update NCGA News SE News GPCA News

24 24 25 26

MCC News PNW News Quick Bytes Canola Cooks

editors’ letter

Farm to Fork, Local to Global WHILE WE COVER a full slate of topics in every edition of the U.S. Canola Digest – production, agronomy, industry, politics and more – this particular issue homes in on canola oil from a culinary and nutrition perspective. How is this incredible, edible oil consumed and perceived around the world? And what does the future hold for this promising crop?

Going Global with Canola Oil

“Globetrotting with Canola Oil” (page 14) examines oil trends in several of canola’s markets, including India, China, Japan, Australia and Mexico. As the rate of cardiovascular disease and diabetes grows in these countries, concern over heart health and better nutrition is driving interest in the right types and amounts of dietary fats. In the U.S. and Canada, experts say the health message is out there, so the new challenge is to better educate consumers and dispel myths about canola oil.

Canola Quick Bytes A Supplement to U.S. Canola Digest

Keep on top of canola-related news during the months when the magazine is not published* with this e-newsletter. Canola Quick Bytes is written by the staff of U.S. Canola Digest and summarizes U.S. government insights, industry news releases and articles in the mass media.

Food Trends

We also take a look at how canola oil fits into today’s most popular food trends. How do chefs across the board use this versatile, light-tasting and heat-tolerant oil? Where do home cooks fit in? Do consumers understand the idea of healthy fats? To find out the answers to these questions and more, turn to page 12.

Financial Fiasco

U.S. Canola Association’s (USCA) Associate Director Dale Thorenson offers his perspective on Capitol Hill’s action, and lack thereof, in his editorial “Congressional Face-off ” on page 6. He examines the fight over the government shutdown and debt ceiling, while detailing their effects on a further delayed farm bill.

Regulation Roulette

In “Raising the Stakes for Agricultural Biotechnology,” USCA Executive Director John Gordley notes that a second U.S. battle in the war against agricultural biotechnology is underway. On one side, biotech companies argue that the threat of legal challenges continues to delay regulatory approval of new biotech traits, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture fervently disagrees. States continue to push for biotech labeling as well. Where does the debate stand now? Turn to page 7 to find out and learn more.

Trouble in the Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley is the site of a heated battleground where farmers remain at odds over the right to grow canola. “Battle of the Ban” examines the problem of coexistence, which is impossible in the view of the specialty seed and fresh vegetable industry there, but entirely manageable from the perspective of would-be canola farmers. Flip to page 18 to learn more about where the controversy stands.

Great Plains Resilience

Topics include: Capitol Hill Agronomy Nutrition Oil for the Environment Latest Products About People

The Great Plains Canola Association (GPCA) reports on page 23 that despite variable conditions, canola has remained resilient in the region. At press time, the region’s growers planned to plant a record amount of canola.

Also, GPCA welcomes Heath Sanders of Yukon, Okla., as canola field specialist for the association. He will work directly with Great Plains growers and agribusinesses in all phases of canola production.

Sign up to receive a complementary subcription to the e-newsletter at www.uscanola.com.

Embrace fall with delicious root vegetables. Page 26 serves up a classic Borscht soup recipe that benefits from canola oil to let the beet, carrot, onion and cabbage flavors shine. Enjoy!

Go Back to Roots This Season

That’s all for U.S. Canola Digest in 2013. See you back here in 2014!

*Canola Quick Bytes is issued eight times a year: the beginning of February, April, May, June, July, August, October and December.

4

U.S. CANOL A DIGEST

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

executive editor angela@uscanola.com

managing editor alison@uscanola.com

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usca update

Viewpoint: Congressional Face-off Fight over Shutdown, Debt Ceiling Pushes Farm Bill Aside DALE THORENSON

Self-Inflicted Fiscal Fiasco

The polarization in Washington D.C. came to a head in October as the differences between Republicans and Democrats shut the federal government down for 16 days, bringing the U.S. to the brink of default on its national debt. A truce was called only hours before the unthinkable happened. The legislation Congress finally passed late in the day on Oct. 16 ended the government shutdown and authorized spending levels at sequester levels through Jan. 15, raised the debt limit until Feb. 7 and required the convening of a budget conference committee to work out a budget for this fiscal year by Dec. 13.

On the latter, let’s hope for real progress, as there is a valid basis for the angst over the sad state of our federal budget. Unfortunately,

Unfortunately, most economists agree that the stalemate during the first two weeks of October cost the U.S. economy an estimated $24 billion in lost economic activity ... which can only add to the growing pool of red ink swamping the U.S. Treasury.

6

U.S. CANOL A DIGEST

most economists agree that the stalemate during the first two weeks of October cost the U.S. economy an estimated $24 billion in lost economic activity – the equivalent of 0.6 percent of projected annualized GDP growth – which can only add to the growing pool of red ink swamping the U.S. Treasury.

The Senate vote was 81-18, with all 54 Democrats and 27 Republicans voting “yea.”

The tally in the House was 285-144, with 198 Democrats and 87 Republicans voting in the affirmative. Republicans provided all the “nays” in both chambers. An exhausted Congress went into recess, with the House scheduled to return Oct. 22 and the Senate Oct. 28. Meanwhile, federal employees returned to work on Oct. 17 to tackle a two week backlog of work.

Farm Bill Sidelined

Most other activities in Congress, including work on the farm bill, were effectively sidelined during the dustup over the continuing resolution and debt ceiling. However, the House did manage to pass a rule by a 226 – 191 vote on Sept. 28 to re-unite the House farm and nutrition bills. The Senate then reappointed its earlier named conferees on Oct. 1, with the House finally following suit on Oct. 12. The four principles – House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairs Rep. Frank Lucas and Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Members Rep. Collin Peterson and Sen. Thad Cochran – met

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

on the afternoon of Oct. 16 prior to the final vote on the continuing resolution-debt ceiling package. The first formal meeting between conferees was scheduled for the week of Oct. 28, when both chambers were back in session. So after three years of effort and two missed expiration dates, a formal conference on the farm bill is finally about to happen.

The Conferees

Senate Democrats named Chair Stabenow (Mich.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Ma x Baucus (Mont.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Michael Bennet (Colo.) as their conferees for the farm bill. Republicans in the Senate getting the nod were Ranking Member Cochran (Miss.), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), John Boozman (Ariz.) and John Hoeven (N.D.).

House Republicans will be represented

by Chair Lucas (Okla.), Steve King (Iowa), Randy Neugebauer (Texas), Mike Rogers (A la.), Mike Conaway (Texas), Glenn Thompson (Pa.), Austin Scott (Ga.), Rick Crawford (Ariz.), Martha Roby (Ala.), Kristi Noem (S.D.), Jeff Denham (Calif.), Rodney Davis (Ill.) and Steve Southerland (Fla., GOP leadership representative). Also named to work on issues pertaining to their jurisdictions were House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ed CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 ❱

usca update

Raising the Stakes for Agricultural Biotechnology State Labeling Laws and Regulatory Delays Pose Challenges JOHN GORDLEY

Addressing Labeling Concerns

After the defeat of Proposition 37, antibiotech activist groups and some organic food product companies refocused their efforts on passing state labeling laws. They have succeeded in Connecticut and are pushing similar legislation in about 25 additional states. They are also working to win another ballot initiative, Proposition 522, in Washington state on Nov. 5.

Trade associations who led the “No on 37” campaign continue to push back against these efforts. The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) and its allies have so far contributed $17.2 million to defeat the Washington initiative. GMA is also looking to form a coalition to lobby Congress to pass a law authorizing labeling of food products that do not contain biotech ingredients, which would preempt any state legislation. The concern is that a mandatory label on biotech-containing products, combined with negative activist publicity, would turn consumers away from these foods. The GMA bill would also make mandatory what are now voluntary consultations by technology companies

with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the safety of new biotech products. Antibiotech activists can be expected to mount strong and very public opposition to this effort if it goes forward.

The umbrella group representing the technology companies, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), launched www.gmoanswers.com, a website to provide straightforward responses to consumer questions about agricultural biotechnology. BIO is engaging in social media activities to provide opportunities for dialogue on biotech issues and inviting interested individuals to come to the website for additional information. Similarly, GMA and its food product companies have launched www.factsaboutgmos.org. The thinking behind both websites is that most consumers know very little about biotech ingredients in their food and that they will be less concerned about labeling products if they become better educated about them. This is a good, albeit longer term, strategy for addressing public

concerns, which have been stirred up by misinformation from the activists.

Reducing Regulatory Delays

A second battleground in the war against agricultural biotechnology is in the courts. The Center for Food Safety and others sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) after it deregulated biotech alfalfa and sugar beet, convincing a circuit court judge to suspend production and commercialization of these crops until environmental impact statements were prepared. The basis for this decision was that APHIS did not take into account economic and other considerations as required under the National Environmental Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. A subsequent court decision clarified that APHIS need consider only whether a biotech trait poses a plant pest risk under the Plant CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 ❱

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGELA DANSBY.

BIOTECHNOLOGY IS THE most widely adopted tool by farmers in the history of agriculture and critical to future food production, yet it continues to be a source of public debate.

The November 2012 defeat of California’s ballot initiative to require labeling of biotech foods did little to quell the mounting battle over agricultural biotechnology in 2013. Antibiotech activism, delays in regulatory approvals and concerns within the value chain are continuing to challenge this critically important innovation in modern agriculture. In response, industry and grower organizations are working to find proactive ways to keep the biotechnology agenda moving forward.

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Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. This product has been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Biotechnology Industry Organization. Always read and follow pesticide label directions. Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Genuity Design®, Genuity Icons, Genuity®, Roundup Ready®, and Roundup® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. 13024 09.13 1 Source: North Dakota State University (NDSU), Minnesota Canola Council, and AgroTech small plot trials 2010 and 2011. AgroTech is a private research company with its trials located in Velva, ND.

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Photograph Yellow, Win Green Enter the fifth annual U.S. Canola Digest photo contest for the opportunity to win cash prizes and have YOUR photo published in the magazine! Check out www.uscanola.com for submission details – and make it snappy!

The deadline for submission is Jan. 1, 2014.

2013 CANOLA ACRES IN NORTH DAKOTA BY COUNTY COUNTY

2012

2013

Adams

11,777

9,304

Barnes

684

114

Benson

20,348

7,032

Billings

1,251

562

Bottineau

84,024

39,043

Bowman

8,544

5,611

The NCGA will hold its 17th annual canola expo on Wednesday, Dec. 11 in Langdon, N.D. The keynote speaker will be Mike Jubinville of Pro Farmer Canada, an international agricultural trade and policy consulting fi rm specializing in the oilseeds sector. He will highlight major market factors expected to influence the oilseed market in 2013-2014. In addition, experts will discuss bee issues in agriculture and canola production results. The NCGA annual membership meeting will follow.

Burke

57,779

44,707

Burleigh

13,557

6,450

Cass

12

23

Cavalier

324,600

193,429

Dickey

-

-

Divide

16,706

11,521

Dunn

5,807

4,867

Eddy

2,708

856

Emmons

797

839

Foster

2,537

543

Golden Valley

2,411

1,899

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Grand Forks

4,621

2,060

Grant

6,285

4,309

Griggs

899

675

Hettinger

66,765

62,113

Kidder

3,052

1,997

LaMoure

-

-

Logan

302

-

McHenry

42,840

20,733

McIntosh

-

736

McKenzie

9,388

7,642

McLean

90,542

65,281

Mercer

15,465

13,242

Morton

4,531

1,362

Mountrail

58,315

66,798

Nelson

26,202

13,261

Oliver

5,152

3,964

Pembina

12,600

4,851

Pierce

30,199

19,828

Ramsey

56,435

35,582

Ransom

-

-

Renville

70,296

39,043

Richland

-

-

Rolette

73,294

33,444

Sargent

-

-

Sheridan

18,804

9,063

Sioux

294

-

Slope

12,341

8,527

Stark

10,784

13,762

Steele

1,367

622

Stutsman

2,985

1,130

Towner

109,136

50,866

Traill

111

-

Walsh

25,311

17,518

Ward

94,439

60,449

Wells

6,988

918

Williams

14,813

21,749

regional news

North Dakota Hits Yield Record in 2013 Research and Health Promotions Enhance Canola’s Reputation BARRY COLEMAN AND SHERI COLEMAN, B.S.N., R.N.

HARVEST REPORTS FROM all counties in North Dakota indicate canola yields will set a record in 2013 with 864,000 acres of harvested canola. Wet weather early in the season, particularly in the north central and northwest areas of the state, prevented many acres from being seeded. Yet some counties planted record high acreage (see bolded figures, right).

Canola Research Conference

The Northern Canola Growers Association (NCGA) will hold its 7th annual Canola Research Conference Nov. 21 in Fargo, N.D. The purpose will be to review findings of recent canola research projects in the region and to gather feedback from grower representatives in charting new areas for research.

About 50 growers, members of the research community and canola industry representatives are expected to attend.

Annual Canola Expo

The NCGA recently met with Wendy Pecoraro, an emergency room and cardiac care nurse practitioner at Nebraska Methodist Health System, to distribute patient tools, health care materials, canola oil and copies of “Canola Gourmet” cookbook.

“Canola oil fits well into our diet management plan to give to our patients,” Pecoraro said.

“Far too many people come through our doors when it is an ‘emergent’ situation. We want to focus on preventative health, a balanced diet and doing what’s right for your heart.”

American Institute for Cancer Research Partnership

The NCGA is a sponsor of the American Institute for Cancer Research annual conference Nov. 7-8 in Bethesda, Md. The opening reception will feature gourmet canola dipping oils; dishes made with canola oil will be served at lunch. The NCGA also will have a booth to distribute educational materials.

MEET SPORTY CAMI CAMI CANOLA is now hitting the ground running ... literally! Cami Canola, the graphic icon for the NCGA’s children’s curriculum and educational materials, has had a makeover to fit the physical fitness scene.

She will be shown in a variety of athletic poses to encourage being active and eating right. Sporty Cami will also be utilized in a variety of sponsorships for children’s programs, including the North Dakota Education Association, Pride of Dakota and Ag in the Classroom.

NCGA staff will also sport the new Cami on their running shirts in some of their upcoming races across the U.S. Go team Cami Canola!

BARRY COLEMAN AND SHERI COLEMAN, B.S.N., R.N., ARE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE NORTHERN CANOLA GROWERS ASSOCIATION IN BISMARCK, N.D.

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U.S. CANOL A DIGEST

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

*Bolded figures indicate a record high of acres planted for that county.

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‘Oil is Well’ Canola Oil on Trend with Chefs, Home Cooks and the Health-Conscious ALISON NEUMER LARA

CANOLA OIL IS in position to take advantage of several trends in the culinary and nutrition world, particularly as consumers grasp the idea of healthy fats. But the hotbutton issue of genetic modification (GM) threatens to derail the oil’s health message without public education.

According to a 2013 survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), 80 percent of Americans recognize that not all fats have the same impact on health and one in four try to consume foods that contain omega-3 fats, but only half of Americans can identify any given key source of unsaturated fats. (Canola oil contains the least saturated fat of all common cooking oils and is a good source of omega-3.)

“There’s a real opportunity to spread the message about the types of fat,” said Kris Sollid, a registered dietitian and associate director of nutrients at the IFIC. “[We need] to help the public better understand the food sources of beneficial fats and how they can incorporate them into their diet.”

Still, old habits are tough to break: the survey found that 69 percent of Americans still try to limit or avoid all types of fat.

“People have trouble letting go of that advice from decades past,” said Sollid.

Chefs and other leaders in the food business, however, are starting to get it, says Amy Myrdal Miller, R.D., who tracks food trends as director of programs and culinary nutrition at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

“One of the principles of healthy menu research and development is to improve fat quality,” she said.

The CIA, together with the Harvard School of Public Health, developed a program to encourage the use of better fats, especially plant-based oils, as well as eliminating trans fat and substantially reducing saturated fat.

Miller is working with one restaurant chain that’s devised the “perfect” plate: one slider, a salad and sweet potato fries fried in canola oil.

“It’s a balanced approach and a real sign of progress,” she said.

“There’s a real opportunity to spread the message about the types of fat ...

We need to help the public better understand the food sources of beneficial Eco-Eating and Versatility fats and how they can Canola oil also has a place in other major food trends: sustainability and ethnic cuisines. incorporate them into “Chefs are interested in the environmental impact of the food on their plate,” Miller said. their diet.”

“One of the sustainability messages is slightly

12

U.S. CANOL A DIGEST

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

decreasing animal protein, introducing more plant-based foods and making them taste great.”

And that’s where a healthy cooking oil comes in.

“We’re supportive of deep-frying,” Miller said. “Give people something crave-able that they love, but use a smaller portion and fry it in a great oil like canola oil.”

Canola oil is also increasingly popular for Chinese, Mexican and other ethnic cooking that benefits from a light-tasting oil.

“What we’re seeing in the U.S. is that with the availability, quality and neutral taste of canola oil, more chefs in those cuisines are turning to it,” Miller said.

Professionals are also realizing the oil’s utility for baking. Miller pointed to a CIA chef who recently experimented with a canola oilbased pound cake, making over the typically butter-laden recipe.

“What he found in a blind tasting is that samplers preferred the canola oil version. They liked the flavor better. The cake rose better, it had a beautiful crumb, and [people] feel better about enjoying it.”

But with several neutral oils on the market, will chefs choose canola oil over other oils?

“Yes, as long as the flavor profile is the same and the cost is the same,” Miller said, noting that some chefs blend canola oil with olive oil when a flavor is desired to achieve a good mix of taste, stability and price.

Kitchen Advantages

Blended or not, canola oil is viewed favorably in the kitchen, attests Thomas Macrina, executive chef at U.S. Foods and president of the American Culinary Federation.

“It’s good for your heart, it has a higher smoke point and it’s good for deep-frying,” he reiterated. “Especially today, you need an oil that’s going to last and you need an oil that’s going to be flavorless and with the economy, you need an oil that’s affordable.”

The National Restaurant Association, together with the ACF, surveyed 1,800 professional chefs for its 2013 “What’s Hot” list of menu trends. Among the top 200, infused and flavored oils, which Macrina makes with canola oil due to its neutral taste and stability.

“I heat the oil for an infused oil, so you get what you’re after much quicker, and canola is a lighter oil so it accepts the flavor better.”

For home cooks, canola oil is viewed as a health and wellness product, said Melissa Abbott, senior director of culinary insights at the Hartman Group, a management consulting firm.

“There’s a tremendous awareness of canola oil and its health benefits, which is confirmed by dietitians,” she said. “The mainstream consumer is down with canola oil.”

“Big Bad Ag” and Other Myths

The tone changes, however, when it comes to influential, leadingedge consumers – the so-called “core,” Abbott said, who view canola oil as something to avoid because of GM. Further, the oil is considered “unnatural” or “processed” at a time when these trend-setting shoppers are focused on freshness.

“Canola has no roots in our food culture and that’s why it’s difficult for consumers to wrap their heads around it,” Abbott said.

That misperception poses a problem for canola oil, unless the industry works quickly and wisely to set consumers straight, said Phil Lempert, a food marketing and consumer habits expert known as “The Supermarket Guru.”

“The discussion about canola oil is going to move away from health and to GM,” he predicted. “The big question is what can growers of canola in general do to make sure that discussion is balanced because canola is a great health story but people are afraid and confused.”

Negative public sentiment toward “big ag” is damaging the reputation of the whole food system, he added. “It’s a tough time for growers of all crops.”

The best defense, Lempert continued, is to reach consumers where the negative, often misleading dialogue is taking place: social media.

Then put a face on the grower with posts such as one-minute videos from the field.

“The canola heath message needs to be pervasive throughout social media,” he said. ”That’s how people are getting their information and you cannot ignore it … Five or 10 years ago, you could bury your head in the sand, but now you can’t.

“Canola is a good product harmed for the wrong reason.”

Canola Oil Displaces Lard in U.S. Hispanic Kitchens MATTIE QUINN IT’S NOT NEWS: Latino immigration is driving major population changes throughout the United States. What’s interesting is how this growth is affecting many different aspects of American life – from demographics to education to even the way we eat.

Think of Mexican cuisine and visions of cheesy quesadillas and burritos stuffed to the brim typically come to mind. Whether served out of a food truck or in a family-owned restaurant, Mexican food is widely popular in the U.S., but generally not considered healthy. As generations of Hispanics continue to settle down and assimilate to American life, however, they’re starting to move away from cooking with lard to healthy oil, following the lead of their new homeland.

“My friends and family eat at my restaurant,” said Octavio Cruces, owner of Marina Village Casa Flores, one of nine popular, locally-owned Casa Flores restaurants in San Joaquin County, Calif., which is 40 percent Hispanic. “I wouldn’t want them to eat anything that would harm them.”

Cruces’s restaurant stopped cooking with lard in 1992 and, after a bit of trial and error, now exclusively uses cholesterol-free canola oil. He sees the use of healthy oil as an evolving trend that he hopes will take hold in all Mexican restaurants.

“Lard or shortening have experienced significant declines over the past five years because of changes in immigration patterns and changes in Hispanic eating and cooking behavior,” according to Wendy Olson, communication manager at Sysco Corporation.

Considering that nearly 40 percent of U.S. Hispanics are considered obese, according to 2012 figures by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, greater usage of healthier ingredients will serve the population well. Moreover, Latinos will account for 60 percent of U.S. population growth over the next five years and their buying power will increase to over $1.5 trillion per the U.S. Census Bureau and Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. So an increase in canola oil usage by this group should have a significant impact on both sales and public health.

“Is cooking with canola oil it a bit more expensive than just cooking with fat?” Cruces asked. “Yes, but I think it’s worth it.”

MAT TIE QUINN IS A FREEL ANCE WRITER BASED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

ALISON NEUMER LARA IS MANAGING EDITOR OF U.S. CANOLA DIGEST.

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Globetrotting with Canola Oil Trends Show International Promise and Opportunity BRITTANY FARB

SINCE THE ADVENT of canola in the early 1970s at the University of Manitoba in Canada, canola oil has gained popularity outside its northern home. The oil’s high smoke point, versatility, neutral taste and health benefits have attracted consumers worldwide and today, it is popular in many households.

However, there’s still plenty of room for growth, especially in countries where heart disease and diabetes are major public health problems. U.S. Canola Digest spoke with industry professionals, dietitians and chefs about the state of and opportunities in the top canola oil markets worldwide. These markets include the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, India, Japan and China.

And who is supplying these markets? For now, largely Canada, which exports 85 percent of the canola it produces. The country’s canola exports in 2012-13 included 7 million

Canada’s canola exports in 2012-13 included 7 million metric tons (MMT) of seed and 2.5 MMT of oil. This makes Canada the number one exporter of canola in the world.

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metric tons (MMT) of seed and 2.5 MMT of oil. This makes Canada the number one exporter of canola in the world. But regardless of product origin, the world is taking notice of and appreciating canola oil’s versatility and health benefits – a good trend for all producers in the long run.

America’s Market Stability and Promise

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, estimates 1.3 million acres of canola will be planted nationwide in 2013, up from only 5,000 acres in 1995. Canola oil is now number two by volume in the U.S. after soybean oil.

The United States is also one of the most valuable long-term markets for Canadian canola seed, oil and meal. It consistently demands more than 60 percent of Canadian canola meal and nearly doubled its imports of oil from 2007 to 2012. Currently, Canadian canola products imports are valued at $3 billion.

“There seems to be more of an awareness in recent years of heart-healthy oils,” said Katherine Brooking, a U.S. registered dietitian and regular contributor to the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America” and other national network programs. “We have moved on from the idea that all fat is bad to actually looking at the types of fat you are consuming.”

Chronic disease issues in the U.S., namely heart disease and diabetes, are also inspiring increased awareness about consuming the right types of dietary fats.

“I think the days of not making any association between food and health are over,” said Brooking. “There is a connection and awareness between what you choose to put into your body and your long-term health outcome. That bodes really well for things like canola oil.”

Similar to Japan, Brooking has observed a trend among younger consumers in their 20s and 30s to cook more at home and rely less

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

on food out of the home. Due to canola oil’s low price, versatility, high smoke point and increasingly publicized health benefits, Brooking is optimistic this will contribute to the product’s growth. In addition, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 will be updated in 2015 and are expected to encourage consumers to choose healthier fats, specifically recommending canola oil, as it does now.

The main challenge Brooking sees in the U.S. for canola oil adoption and healthy eating in general revolves around national income disparity.

“As a nutrition educator, I see huge discrepancies in knowledge as a function of income,” she said. “Where people have more affluence and access to better food and resources, there is a much better nutrition understanding and willingness to use things like canola oil. In poor pockets, people aren’t even thinking in terms of nutrition. Rather, they are thinking of how far I can stretch my dollar.”

Canada’s Home Turf Advantage

As a lifelong Canadian, Bruce Jowett, vice president of market development for the Canola Council of Canada, has observed acceptance of canola oil at varying levels in Canada. In the prairie provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, where fields of yellow dominate the summer countryside, canola is well known and its oil popular among consumers. Nationwide, canola oil is the number one cooking oil by volume.

However, Jowett points to a lower market share on the west coast and eastern regions of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes (Atlantic provinces). There is also a lack of awareness of canola oil in these areas, where very little of the crop is grown.

“We need to continue to reinforce the health message within Canada, especially in these areas,” he said.

Australia’s canola production has risen in the past five years to represent 50 percent of total oilseed production.

Mexican Cuisine Embraces Canola Oil

PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO CASTILLO.

For t he pa s t dec ade, Me x ic o has proven to be a reliable, longterm market for Canadian canola seed and meal with attractive growth potential. Canola oil represents nearly 30 percent of the vegetable oil market in Mexico and is Consumers in Mexico appreciate canola oil’s neutral flavor, high number two in volsmoke point and affordable price. ume after soybean oil. Canada sells Patricia Chuey, a Vancouver-based reg- about 1.44 MMT of canola seed to Mexico istered dietitian and author, grew up in the annually, accounting for about $748 million canola-rich province of Saskatchewan, where per year in economic activity by being transcanola oil is in almost every household. ported, crushed, refined and bottled domesti“Canola oil was as much of a staple as a cally. And the outlook continues to be strong dozen eggs or a carton of milk,” she remem- as awareness increases throughout the country. bered. “It’s a standard – everybody has canola With cardiovascular disease and diabetes oil. People all over the country appreciate it for the leading causes of death in Mexico, there is its neutral taste and also its high smoke factor an increasing opportunity to grow awareness and how well it works.” about the right types and amounts of dietary However, now that she lives in Vancouver, fats. In fact, the Mexican government has she has noticed that canola oil is not as widely prioritized diet-related health issues and conused there. To address this fact, CanolaInfo tinues to make efforts to educate consumers outreach focuses on British Columbia as well about how they can help themselves in terms as on Quebec and Ontario, where populations of lifestyle. In addition, public health organiare higher. zations like the Mexican Diabetes Federation With U.S. canola acres up, Jowett have joined in on educational programs that observes this “adds legitimacy” to canola oil include key messages about canola oil. and increases consumer acceptance among Mexican chef Guadalupe García de León, Canadians outside of the canola-growing a cookbook author and culinary instrucprovinces. And of course, canola is a source tor, has observed that consumers are also of national Canadian pride. gravitating to canola oil based on its perfor“We can’t stop reinforcing all of the good mance in the kitchen. things about canola oil,” he noted.

“Mexico’s consumers are appreciating more

and more the use of canola oil in contemporary cooking,” she said. “They like the fact that canola oil is versatile; it’s good for salads, deepfrying and cooking in general. They appreciate its neutral flavor and high smoke point.

The affordable price is also a factor considered when choosing canola oil.”

Canola Oil Sales Up Down Under

Aussies have said “g’day” to canola oil in recent decades since the first Australian brand was launched in 1988. It was “branded” by Nick Goddard, executive director of the Australian Oilseeds Federation, who promoted it entirely on a health platform, specifically in relation to heart health.

“Subsequently, other canola oil-based products have come to market, such as canola margarines and mayonnaise, which have all used the health benefit as the core marketing proposition,” he said. “This has served to build up an aura around canola oil, so that it is synonymous with health.”

The September-October 2013 U.S. Canola Digest reported that Australia is the world’s second largest exporter of canola, accounting for 17 percent of world canola trade in 2012.

In fact, the nation’s canola production has risen in the past five years to represent 50 percent of total oilseed production, according to the Australian Oilseeds Federation.

Restaurants and fast-food giants deserve some of the credit. Chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s have switched from palm oil to high-oleic canola oil.

“Canola has a bright future in this country,” said Goddard. “The opportunity to replace palm oil with high-oleic canola works well from an image point of view for canola.

“Canola has certainly been a success story down under, and it has really come about through the combination of the suitability for a grower [to put] it into the cereal rotation … and the general consumer trend for healthier oils.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING INDIA.

Bruce Jowett, vice president of market development at the Canola Council of Canada, speaks about canola oil’s benefits at a reader event led by the editor of Good Housekeeping India.

Health Woes Provide Opportunity in India

As a new market for Canadian canola oil, India exhibits significant growth potential due to its population, growing middle class, huge oil consumption and rampant rates of heart disease and diabetes.

“India has more of a health concern because of the diet and the types of oils they use,” said Jowett.

“By the year 2020, 60 percent of the world’s cardiovascular disease will be within India.”

India is the second largest oil consumer in the world and the second largest importer.

Despite those figures, Canada sells less than 200 MMT of canola oil to India and it does not import canola seed or meal.

“You still see people challenged with recalling the name canola or even understanding what canola is,” said Jowett, who visited India in September 2013. “When you go into the grocery stores, you see canola oil just doesn’t have a lot of shelf space.”

Indian consumer survey results in April 2012 showed an increased focus on the type of oil versus its brand since the last survey in August 2010. While awareness of canola oil remains low as a new product in India, 84 percent of respondents said they were willing to try it after reading a description about its health and culinary benefits. Jowett remains hopeful that consumers’ willingness to incorporate canola oil into their diets, in addition to canola’s nutritional and culinary benefits will encourage market growth – and improve public health – in India.

Japan’s Longstanding Market Share

Canola oil is big in Japan as it has been the number one consumed oil there for years. In

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fact, canola oil has a 43 percent share among all cooking oils. Japan boasts one of the hearthealthiest diets in the world with low rates of heart disease compared to other countries.

“Consumers who purchase canola oil have an image of healthy and the price is reasonable,” said Tracy Lussier, manager of canola trading at Louis Dreyfus Commodities Canada Ltd. But as western influence infi ltrates cooking and lifestyle in Japan, heart health problems are increasing. Consequently, heart disease and cancer are health issues of concern for Japanese consumers. Because they are among the most health conscious in the world, they are willing to take action to maintain and improve their health. Canola oil is a logical choice due to its lack of trans fat and low saturated fat, high omega-3 fat content.

Lussier explains the eating at home trend in Japan has been on the rise since 2003, thus increasing the demand for canola oil

Increasing consumer awareness about canola oil is pivotal to its continued success in current and potential new markets.

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

since it works well with mild Japanese cuisine. On the other hand, health conscious consumers may be inclined to use less cooking oil in the kitchen in an attempt to cut fat, presenting a potential challenge for canola oil in the future.

Aside from its health benefits, canola oil consumption may also increase in Japan as the country switches from soybean to canola crushing, according to Lussier.

China’s New Commitment to Health

Although canola oil is still quite new for Chinese consumers, the country’s rising income, exposure to western ideas and desire for good health present a great market opportunity. With a population of nearly 1.3 billion, China is the top vegetable oil consumer in the world, using about 50 MMT of vegetable oil each year.

Additionally, cardiovascular disease is a leading public health problem, which gives reason to increase awareness about the right types and amounts of dietary fats. And with rising health care costs, the Chinese government faces a big burden if consumers do not commit to making lifestyle improvements.

“China is a very politically charged country,” observed Jowett, who also traveled to China in September 2013. “The government provides people with the information that they want them to hear and understand. It wants its people to eat good, healthy food, so I think the government will support something like canola oil once it understands its benefits.”

In China, which grows a lot of rapeseed, the core challenge is educating consumers about canola oil, Jowett said, beginning with clarifying confusion between the two.

“Both plants are visually similar and that causes people to think canola is rapeseed,” he said. “We must emphasize that while the plants do look quite similar on the outside, when you look at the canola plant’s profile, it is much different than rapeseed.”

As it does with cuisines around the world, canola oil’s neutral flavor works well with Chinese food, allowing the culture’s traditional ingredients to shine.

With health concerns on the rise worldwide and the oil’s health benefits, the outlook is positive for canola oil’s future. For now, increasing consumer awareness about the oil is pivotal to its continued success in current and potential new markets.

BRITTANY FARB IS ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR OF U.S. CANOLA DIGEST.

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Battle of the Ban With Temporary Production Freeze, Canola Debate Continues in Willamette Valley ALISON NEUMER LARA

NESTLED IN NORTHWEST OREGON and laced with waterways are 3 million acres of the state’s richest farmland, the Willamette Valley Protected District. It is also a heated battleground where farmers remain at odds over the right to grow canola.

The problem? Coexistence, which is impossible in the view of the specialty seed and fresh vegetable industry there, and entirely manageable from the perspective of would-be canola farmers.

This set the stage for a fight that’s since escalated to Oregon’s highest elected office, where in August, Gov. John Kitzhaber signed a law banning commercial production of canola in the Willamette Valley until 2019.

won’t have any idea what the impact of diseases like Sclerotina will be,” he said.

Both Sides of the Fence

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

“The contention that specialty seed growers have is that they are working on small scales – less than an acre to several acres – and because of the value of the seed, the fields are carefully monitored, controlled and harvested.”

With larger scale production of crops such as canola, the argument continues, there is less care, which could lead to disease and volunteer canola capable of damaging the $50 million specialty seed industry.

That suggestion roils growers such as Kathy Hadley, a member of the Willamette Valley Oilseed Producers Association, who grows grass seed, grains and canola when possible.

“To be told that I’m not a professional and that I can’t manage my operation well … it’s incredibly frustrating,” she said. “Canola shatters, but so do vetch, peas and other crops.

Any crop is going to have seed loss and shatter and that issue is a management issue.

There are always volunThe Willamette Valley is the site of a heated battleground with teers no matter what the farmers at odds over the right to grow canola. crop is.”

As for disease, “most “There is no obvious answer,” said Russ growers are going to put on multiple broadKarow, head of the crop and soil science leaf applications,” Hadley continued. “We’re department at Oregon State University not going to overproduce canola on individual (OSU) which, as part of the recently enacted farms. If we increase the disease pressure, we’d law, will conduct a research study on 500 shoot ourselves in the foot.” acres to determine if canola should be reguPlus, there’s disease with vetch, peas, clolated differently than other Brassica crops ver and other crops, she pointed out. It’s not after the temporary ban. unique to canola.

“Until you have larger scale production, you But the economics don’t compute, according

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to the area’s specialty seed and fresh vegetable growers, who argue that canola growers wouldn’t have any incentive to spray once a stand is established on land and with a crop that’s far less expensive.

“They will not be spraying,” said Mike Iverson of Aurora Farms, former president of Oregon Fresh Market Vegetable Association and one of its largest growers. “It’s a fallacy that they’re going to protect themselves.

“The radish seed that I buy is $900 a bag. If the other guy doesn’t spray for cabbage maggot, and if I get 10 percent loss, I’m finished.”

By some estimates, per acre prices in the heart of Willamette Valley are as high as $400 per acre versus dryland at $50-$80 an acre.

“You have a best use issue,” noted Iverson, who farms 18 different products on 200 acres.

“Who puts up a Laundromat downtown next to a high rent hotel? If they were in my shoes and had to pay the price, they would change their mind.”

Seed purity is the main concern for these farmers and their customers, added Leah Rodgers, field director of Friends of Family Farmers, an advocacy group. Canola growers don’t have the same issue. “The negative impacts only go in one direction. You can’t have a coexistence model where one group stands to lose big and other has no incentives.”

From Legislation to Litigation

The new law provides a temporary détente in this contentious situation, at least until OSU researchers report their findings to the state legislature in 2017, but each side is entrenched in its position from battle lines drawn years earlier.

Beginning in the late 1990s, Willamette Valley started to flourish as a hotbed for vegetable seed production, especially Brassica crops like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. It developed a specialty seed industry now worth an estimated $50 million, plus a fresh market vegetable industry valued at $30 million.

At the same time, grass seed growers, many located in the foothills of the valley, discovered that canola made an excellent rotational crop that could help disrupt disease and pest cycles in their fields. With field burning banned and a shrinking grass seed market, these farmers turned to canola as an alternative way of controlling weeds, pests and diseases.

“It’s a very unique area,” said Bruce Pokarney, director of communications at the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA).

“There’s tremendously fertile soil here and a great climate. It’s where all the crops want to live and where all the people want to live.”

In 2005, the ODA stepped in to help reconcile the situation among growers and set up control districts which permitted limited canola production. The Center for Food Safety sued the ODA to overturn the rule. A 2012 ODA proposal to reintroduce canola to the valley was met with another lawsuit by the center, filed together with Friends of Family Farmers, and also drew wildly vocal opposition, which

picked up steam from anti-genetic modification (GM) activists. In early 2013, state lawmakers PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. introduced legislation for Willamette Valley became a hotbed for vegetable seed a temporary ban. production, especially Brassica crops like broccoli, cabbage, “ T his bec a me a n cauliflower and Brussels sprouts in the late 1990s. issue that was much larger than the valley and attracted national interest,” Pokarney livelihoods on this valuable farmland. said. “GM was one of the triggers. We didn’t Hadley is encouraged by the way the make it about that, but it compounded the research proposal is framed, which posits that response exponentially.” if there are no “significant differences in pest The anti-GM message added a layer of fear- incidence or volunteer plant occurrence” on mongering to the debate and “we really, for the the research acreage, then canola “should be most part, don’t even want to grow GM vari- treated equitably in any regulatory process.” eties,” said potential canola grower Hadley.

“Philosophically, I am opposed to the law,” “We’ve been on so much defense to try and Hadley emphasized. “That being said, 500 bring the conversation back to an even keel. acres is more than zero. It also keeps this from There’s too much emotion for people to listen.” going back to court for the time being.”

The temporary ban may cool tempers, but now all eyes are on the research as growers ALISON NEUMER LARA IS MANAGING on both sides worry over the future of their EDITOR OF U.S. CANOLA DIGEST.

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usca update Viewpoint: Congressional Faceoff

Raising the Stakes for Agricultural Biotechnology

❰ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

❰ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Royce (Calif.) and Tom Marino (Pa.), as well as Ways and Means Chair Dave Camp (Mich.) and Sam Johnson (Texas).

House Democrats named Ranking Member Peterson (Minn.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Tim Walz (Minn.), Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Suzan DelBene (Wash.), Gloria Negrete McLeod (Calif.), Filemon Vela (Texas) and Marcia Fudge (Ohio, Democratic leadership representative). Also named for the Foreign Affairs Committee was Ranking Member Eliot Engel (N.Y.); and for Ways and Means, Ranking Member Sandy Levin (Mich.).

Protection Act. While this decision would appear to clear the air about future legal challenges, the USDA remains convinced that lawsuits will continue to be filed and that it needs to prepare the strongest possible case prior to deregulating a biotech trait. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is facing threats of litigation if it approves product labels for herbicide-resistant biotech crops.

Biotech companies claim that the threat of legal challenges continues to delay regulatory approvals of new biotech traits by an average of 31 months. The USDA disagrees, and says it is meeting a two-year-old commitment to reduce delays to 13 to 16 months. Technology providers and farm organizations are working to open up a constructive dialogue with both regulatory agencies that can lead to reducing approval delays for products that growers need to improve yields, manage increasing weed resistance and meet foreign competition.

Points of Contention

With the continuing resolution-debt limit deal mandating that Congress convene a budget committee conference, the focus has now moved from defunding Obamacare toward a “grand bargain” negotiation over entitlement spending and tax reform, similar to what took place in the latter half of 2011. This opens up the possibility that a farm bill could be included in an overall budget package to make use of the expected spending cuts that will be included. To do so, policymakers will need to reach agreement on a number of issues prior to Dec. 13. Regarding nutrition, lawmakers must bridge the $36 billion gap between the Senate’s $4 billion cut in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding and the House’s $40 billion cut. Another point of contention is the House’s continuing effort to sever the link between farm legislation and nutrition by ending SNAP’s authorization after three years even as the rest of the farm bill will end after five. Also, major differences exist between the chambers over the support mechanism in the Commodity Title.

Finally, the assault on the crop insurance program continues as the House voted to instruct conferees to reduce premium subsidies for high-income farmers.

Should Congress fail to pass a farm bill by the end of the year, the stage will then be set for another extension to prevent permanent law provisions, such as the doubling of milk prices, from kicking in. However, there would be an all-out effort to strip direct payments from the extension, which would leave little funding left in the baseline for the Commodity Title and make it even more difficult to write a new farm bill next year.

DALE THORENSON IS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. CANOLA ASSOCIATION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

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Cooperating Across the Value Chain

A third area that has endangered efforts to move the biotech agenda forward is a lack of clarity over who is responsible for losses when unapproved traits show up in commercial channels, whether domestic or international. Companies that trade and process agricultural commodities or that manufacture food products from them are concerned about possible losses when inadvertent releases result in product recalls or shipments rejected by foreign buyers. For their part, tech providers don’t want to be held responsible for accidents by downstream users after traits have been approved and commercialized.

These differences became a source of increasing friction within the value chain following the recent introduction of traits with Agricultural technology unique functional characteristics, which can affect processing or end-product quality if providers don’t want allowed into normal commercial markets. to be held responsible And they prevented cooperation between value chain sectors on issues where they share for accidents by common interests, including the development of international standards on allowing downstream users a low level presence of unapproved traits in after traits have shipments and efforts to synchronize approvals in exporting and importing countries. been approved and Appreciating the validity of the concommercialized. cerns expressed by both sides, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) initiated a process to bring all parties into a discussion on their respective responsibilities in the development and marketing of biotech traits. They drafted a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which has now been signed by the ASA, NCGA, North American Export Grain Association, National Grain and Feed Association, American Seed Trade Association and BIO as founding signatories, with additional signatories including the National Oilseed Processors Association, Corn Refiners Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. Grains Council and U.S. Soybean Export Council.

Under the MOU process, working groups have identified domestic and international issues that need to be addressed through mutual undertakings. A secretariat will be hired shortly to coordinate this work, which is envisioned to be ongoing for the next several years.

As the process moves to this more intensive level over the next few months, other organizations with a stake in agricultural biotechnology, including the U.S. Canola Association, National Cotton Council, U.S. Sugar Beet Growers Association and others, will be invited to participate. Results of this important effort will affect the entire U.S. value chain.

Supporters of agricultural biotechnology see it as an indispensable part of a strategy to feed a world population that will grow to 9 billion by 2050. To achieve this potential, however, they must recognize and address the concerns of consumers, regulators and others in the value chain who can influence its acceptance. Efforts to respond proactively to this responsibility are now underway, led by grower and industry organizations.

JOHN GORDLEY IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. CANOLA ASSOCIATION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

NOVEMBER • D ECEMBER 2013

regional news

Canola ‘Meal Ticket’ for Southeast Farmers Local Poultry Producer Finds Value in Canola Meal CRETIA ARIAIL

AS MORE AND MORE southeastern growers join the canola industry, they are encouraged by the increasing regional acceptance of both canola oil and meal. Used locally in poultry and dairy cattle feed, the meal has proven its own merit independent of the heart-healthy oil.

Case in point, Fieldale Farms in northeast Georgia is mixing canola meal with soybean meal in its poultry feed. This family business is one of the largest, independent poultry producers in the world.

provide. It occasionally sources some meal from Canada but less so over the years, especially since northeastern dairy farmers discovered the benefits of using canola meal in their cattle feed. (Research studies in Canada and China have shown that when canola meal is added to the rations of dairy cows, their milk production increases from 0.6 to 1 percent per day.) Fieldale Farms also uses canola oil in its feed if the processing plants have any excess.

Development of quality, local feed supplies in a feed-deficit region is a silver lining in the clouds of recent high commodity and freight prices. From poultry to dairy cows, canola meal has its place in the oilseed sector, making canola even more attractive as a rotational crop in the southeast.

CRETIA ARIAIL AND HER FAMILY GROW CANOLA IN CARNESVILLE, GA.

Since the mid-1970s, Fieldale Farms in northeast Georgia has used canola meal in its poultry feed.

According to Dave Wicker, vice president of live production at Fieldale Farms, canola meal is a good, complementary protein source when used to replace a portion of the soybean meal in poultry feed and it is competitive when priced on relative protein content. In addition, canola meal in the southeast is expeller-pressed, resulting in a 6 to 8 percent residual oil content, which enhances its energy content for use in poultry feed.

Since the mid-1970s, Fieldale Farms has used canola meal in its poultry feed, originally sourcing it from Canada. Now, most of the meal comes from local canola processing plants, Hart AgStrong and Resaca Sun. Each week, Fieldale Farms grinds 18,000 tons of feed, using a mix of 150-200 tons of canola meal plus soybean meal to feed the operation’s 24-26 million birds.

Fieldale Farms could use up to 400-500 tons of canola meal per week, Wicker noted, but it is taking all the meal local plants can

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Despite Wet and Mild Weather, Crop Proves Resilient Great Plains Growers Set to Plant Record Acres in 2013 RON SHOLAR

“RECURRING DROUGHTS, interspersed with seductive rainier periods are a normal feature of the Great Plains,” wrote climatologist C.W. Thornthwaite in the 1945 “Yearbook of Agriculture.” It was true then and it’s still true almost seven decades later. Odds are tremendous that it will be true in the future, too.

This truism has much to do with why many regional farmers should be interested in adding canola to their farming operations. Even when Great Plains weather improves from time to time and goes through a “rainer” period, it returns once again to the “drier” norm. Due to summer droughts, regional crop production is better during cooler months of the year. That’s why winter wheat and winter canola are good fits.

Farmers here are accustomed to highly variable weather and 2013 has done nothing to change that expectation. In fact, this year will be remembered for the record-setting low temperatures of early May. Freezing temperatures, ice and even snow in some areas damaged canola and wheat crops. But despite the really late freeze, the canola crop proved resilient and many growers still had good yields.

May brought desperately needed moisture to some areas, but much of the state and region remained in the throes of a three-year drought. June weather was typical: rainy and stormy the first half followed by the start of a predictably long, hot and dry summer. Overall, June’s statewide average total rainfall was comparable to prior years at 3.7 inches, though some parts of the state got much higher rainfall amounts.

July 2013 will be remembered for its wet and mild conditions, especially compared to the furnace-like conditions of both July 2011 and 2012. August weather was hot and dry, much like the past two years. September followed suit with an average temperature of 3 degrees above normal. Rainfall was variable across the region with a statewide average total of 2.6 inches – more than an inch below normal.

At press time, all of the production areas had received much needed rainfall and regional growers planned to plant a record amount of canola. It’s never assumed that a drought is truly over in the southern Great Plains, but there has been enough rainfall to help growers get seed in the ground.

Due to summer droughts, regional crop production is better during cooler months of the year.

That’s why winter wheat and winter canola are good fits.

SANDERS NAMED GPCA CANOLA FIELD SPECIALIST AS PART OF ITS founding mission, the Great Plains Canola Association (GPCA) has sought to provide assistance to growers incorporating canola into their farming operations. To support this effort, the GPCA hired Heath Sanders of Yukon, Okla., as canola field specialist. In this role, he will work directly with Great Plains canola growers and agribusinesses in all phases of production.

“We are very fortunate to have an individual of Heath’s caliber, who will be providing critically needed, handson expertise to both new and veteran canola growers,” said GPCA President Jeff Scott. “Heath has a wealth of knowledge and experience with canola, having worked previously in other segments of the industry. His experience will be invaluable in helping GPCA meet its goal of expanding canola acreage in the Great Plains region.”

Sanders holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and a master’s degree in plant and soil science with an emphasis in weed science from Oklahoma State University. Most recently, he worked as an oilseed agronomist for Producers Cooperative Oil Mill (PCOM) in Oklahoma City, Okla., where he helped increase winter canola acres in the southern Great Plains.

Sanders’s position is funded through a cooperative of groups committed to expanding canola production in the Great Plains: the GPCA, U.S. Canola Association, Oklahoma Oilseed Commission, canola seed companies, agricultural product companies, and members of the canola crushing and exporting industries.

Sanders is available to work with producers and agribusinesses and can be contacted at (580) 678-2754 or bhsanders@ymail.com.

RON SHOLAR IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GREAT PLAINS ASSOCIATION IN STILLWATER, OKLA.

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Oilseed and Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference

regional news

KAREN SOWERS, M.S.

‘Grow Minnesota Acre’ Project in Full Swing Research to Evaluate Results from Higher Inputs JON DOCKTER

A NEW “GROW THE MINNESOTA ACRE” project aims to boost canola production in a state that historically grew much more of the crop than it does now.

Under the project, a series of research plots are demonstrating the upward yield potential of canola in Minnesota with more intensive management practices.

Yield goals of the conventional plots averaged about 2,000 pounds per acre (lbs/ac) while the yield goal of the intensively managed plot was set at 2,200 lbs/ac.

Four locations in northern Minnesota were selected as research sites this year, but due to the difficult spring, growers only planted three. Plots in Hallock, Greenbush

and Grygla, Minn., each compared 40 acres of canola managed conventionally against 40 acres managed with higher inputs. Yield goals of the conventional plots averaged about 2,000 pounds per acre (lbs/ac) while the yield goal of the intensively managed plot was set at 2,200 lbs/ac.

The Hallock and Grygla plots, which were harvested in September, beat these goals. Yields in the standard management plots averaged 2,538 lbs/ac, while the more intensively managed plots averaged 2,871 lbs/ac, accounting for an average yield increase of 330 lbs/ac.

Once all the harvest data is collected, a financial analysis will be completed to see if the higher inputs also resulted in an increased return on investment. Given the 11.5 percent yield advantage, financial gains may outweigh the increased cost of more inputs.

The “Grow the Minnesota Acre” project was funded by the U.S. Canola Association, Bayer CropScience, WinField, Star Specialty Seeds and Northstar Agri Industries.

JON DOCKTER IS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE MINNESOTA CANOLA COUNCIL IN ST. PAUL, MINN.

ANNUAL WINTER MEETING THE MINNESOTA CANOLA COUNCIL will hold its annual winter meeting, “Rediscover Canola: The Game Has Changed – Exceptional Yields and New Technology Make Canola a Profitable Choice for Your Rotation,” on Tuesday, Dec. 17, in Roseau, Minn.

Educational sessions will focus on the agronomic advantages of growing canola, precision agriculture, industry innovations, canola pathology and data from the 2013 Canola Production Centre. These sessions will be followed by an evening of socializing and entertainment at the always popular “Lucky Doubles Dinner.”

The event is free for producers, university personnel and sponsors who pre-register, and $10 on site. To register, contact the Minnesota Canola Council at (651) 638-9883.

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BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF the management and benefits of direct seeding canola will be on the agenda at the 2014 Pacific Northwest (PNW) Oilseed and Direct Seeding Conference Jan. 20-22, 2014, in Kennew ick, Wash. Aptly named “Cove r ing N ew Ground,” the conference will be hosted by the Washington St ate Universit y Biofuels Cropping Systems Project and the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association.

About 400 people are expected to attend.

The agenda will cover Australian and American perspectives of oilseed and direct seeding systems, Conservation Reserve Program takeout opportunities, benefits of oilseeds in direct seeding crop rotations, risk management, the history and progress of PNW oilseed research, international and national policies driving oilseed production and direct seeding, precision agriculture trends, plant signaling systems, market outlook and cover crops. Breakout sessions will provide in-depth discussion of direct seeding oilseeds, including micronutrient management for top canola yields, seeding date considerations, precision agriculture, mustard and camelina production, and management strategies by rainfall zone. A research poster session will feature the most recent data about oilseed and direct seeding studies in the PNW. The conference will also include a diagnostic and demonstration session, vendor booths and an exhibit area. Confirmed speakers include Dwayne Beck of Dakota Lakes Research Farm, Peter Moulton of the Washington Department of Commerce, Dave Paul of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency, Heath Sanders of the Great Plains Canola Association, Phil Thomas of AgriTrend Agrology and BrassicaCorp Ltd., Dale Thorenson of the U.S. Canola Association (USCA), regional growers and Washington State University faculty.

Conference information is at css.wsu.edu/biofuels/2014conference. Register at directseed.org/events/annual-conference.

Discounts are available to Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association and USCA members.

KAREN SOWERS, M.S., IS AN EXTENSION AND OUTREACH SPECIALIST IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CROP AND SOIL SCIENCES AT WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY IN RICHLAND.

quick bytes

capitol hill The one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill expired Sept. 30 without Congress reconciling the two competing bills passed by the House and Senate earlier this year.

The House passed a rule Sept. 28 to combine the House farm and nutrition bills, and both the Senate and House have named conferees to resolve the legislation. The first formal meeting was expected on Oct. 28, when both chambers were back in session. A farm bill could be included in an overall budget package, but to do so, conferees will need to reach agreement on a number of issues prior to Dec. 13. For more information, see the USCA Update on page 6.

According to an internal audit released in September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop insurance program that reimburses farmers for “prevented planting” creates disincentives for them to raise crops. The program has provided coverage of more than $480 million in “potentially excessive prevented planting payments,” the audit stated. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency has agreed to consult with USDA attorneys to determine if it will be lawful to reduce the historic yields of farmers who claim prevented planting. The agency said it will determine if coverage levels are excessive by June 2014, allowing for potential policy changes for the 2015 crop year.

agronomy In August, Oregon Gov. John

Kitzhaber signed a law banning commercial production of canola in the Willamette Valley until 2019.

Local vegetable growers and specialty seed growers have been concerned canola would cross-pollinate with Brassica crops and would introduce diseases and pests.

Would-be canola farmers maintain that the crop will not do either due to restrictions on how close it can be planted to these crops and proper field management. They also argue there is no greater risk of outcrossing or volunteers with canola than with any other crop and that canola would provide a muchneeded rotational option for grass seed and wheat farmers. The law is funding research to determine if canola should be regulated differently than other Brassica crops.

On Sept. 25, the USDA approved three new biotech traits, including Monsanto’s glyphosate-resistant canola ‘MON 88302,’ which has more flexibility in the timing of herbicide application. This decision follows a preliminary deregulation in July by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. As a result, the agency will no longer monitor the field testing or movement of the plants. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says this new, accelerated deregulation process aims to complete approval of biotech plants in 1.3 years on average. The U.S. Canola Association supports the approval of glyphosate-resistant canola.

Northstar Agri Industries and Bayer CropScience have announced the addition of InVigor L252 hybrid.

Launched for the 2014 growing season, L252 features the LibertyLink trait, which gives farmers an alternative to glyphosate-tolerant systems and a tool to fight herbicide resistance. “We are so pleased to add a LibertyLink hybrid to our contract,” said Jay Bjerke, agronomic services manager at Northstar Agri Industries. “This now gives our growers access to the full range

of herbicide systems available in canola today. Using Liberty herbicide is a great option to rotate with other herbicide systems to enhance volunteer control and prevent the establishment of herbicideresistant weeds.”

biodiesel from canola oil, was established in the 2008 Farm Bill.

latest industry news

nutrition According to the American Heart Association, one person dies every 39 seconds from heart disease in the U.S., making it the leading cause of death among Americans.

In addition to adequate exercise, making better food choices is essential for heart health. Eating Well recommended limiting saturated fat to 5 percent or less of your total calories. Replacing butter with vegetable-based oils such as canola oil reduces saturated fat and provides heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. The article also suggested limiting salt, sugar and trans fat intake.

oil for fuel Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA is making $15.5 million in payments to 188 producers through the Advanced Biofue l Pay m e nt Progra m .

“Producing advanced biofuels is a major component of the drive to take control of America’s energy future by developing domestic, renewable energy sources,” said USDA Rural Development Acting Under Secretary Doug O’Brien.

“These payments represent the Obama administration’s commitment to support an ‘all-of-theabove’ energy strategy.” Funding of this program, which includes making

Baldur R. Stefansson, known as the “father of canola,” was honored posthumously at University of Manitoba’s new Innovation Plaza Aug. 22. The university held a ceremony to unveil a bronze bust of the late Stefansson. “Canola is such an important part of the agricultural economy here in the province and agriculture is such an important part in … our future economic prospects,” said University of Manitoba President David Barnard at the ceremony. “Stefansson’s contribution to that is outstanding.”

about shoot & saddle Enter the fifth annual U.S. Canola Digest photo contest for the opportunity to win cash prizes and have your photo published in the magazine! The deadline is Jan. 1, 2014. Winning photos will be determined in early January and published in the March/April 2014 U.S. Canola Digest. Visit www.uscanola.com for details.

Get ready to “saddle up” for the 47th annual Canola Council of Canada (CCC) convention Feb. 25-27, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, Texas. Guest speakers will include Vincent Amanor-Boadu, associate professor of agribusiness economics and management at Kansas State University and Jim Painter, professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern Illinois University.

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canola cooks

FERNE’S HEALTHY BORSCHT Adapted from Canola Gourmet

2 medium onions, chopped 1 cup diced carrots 1 cup diced celery

Go Back to Your Roots Digging Up Fall’s Best Vegetables

1 cup shredded cabbage 3 tsp canola oil 1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced 2 cups beets, peeled and diced 1 cup tomato juice 2 cups vegetable broth 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 bay leaves

SHERI COLEMAN, B.S.N., R.N.

AUTUMN IS WHEN root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, celery root and rutabaga are at their peak of freshness and flavor. The fall and winter months are also best for cruciferous vegetables (a.k.a. the Brassica family of crops with flowers that each have four petals resembling a cross) like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and bok choy, which turn sweeter with cooler temperatures.

In addition to being great sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber, all of these vegetables respond well to long, slow cooking. Eat them roasted straight from the oven, simmered in a soup or even grilled until tender over low heat. They are endlessly versatile, whether as the centerpiece of the meal or a complement to the main course.

And no matter the recipe, it’s likely to include some kind of fat or oil. This essential ingredient helps prevent sticking, carries flavor and changes the texture of foods. Canola oil’s light taste makes it a good choice for coating vegetables when roasting or grilling since it will not overpower delicate flavors. Its stability at high heat also helps the vegetables crisp without scorching.

Beets are among the most colorful winter vegetables. They are delicious on their own, simply roasted, baked or boiled, but truly come into their own in borscht, the classic Eastern European soup. The flavor of the soup is rounded out with onions, carrots, celery, cabbage and potatoes – all classic winter vegetables themselves.

SHERI COLEMAN, B.S.N., R.N., IS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE NORTHERN CANOLA GROWERS ASSOCIATION IN BISMARCK, N.D.

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1 tsp salt fresh dill, chopped fresh parsley, chopped sour cream for garnish In large soup pot, sauté onion, carrot, celery and cabbage in canola oil over medium heat until carrot can be easily pierced with fork. Add potatoes and beets. Continue to sauté for about 1 minute. Add 6½ cups water, tomato juice, broth, lemon juice, bay leaves and salt. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.

Add dill and parsley to taste. Remove from heat and serve. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon sour cream if desired.

Yield: 12 servings.

Canola Expo 17th Annual

Langdon Activity Activity Center Center Wednesday, December 11, 2013 9:00

Registration/View Exhibits/Sign up for Door Prizes

9:15

Welcome Jon Wert, NCGA President

9:30

Canola and Bees - Issues in Agriculture Bayer Rep & NDDA Rep

10:00

Blackleg in Canola - Observations from 2013 Ron Beneda, NDSU

10:30

Exhibitor Break

11:15

NCGA Annual Business Meeting Promotional Activities -- Door Prizes Giveaway NCGA Board of Directors and Staff

12:00

Complimentary Lunch/View Exhibits

1:00

Keynote Address -- Global Canola Outlook Mike Jubinville - Pro Farmer Canada

1:30

(Concurrent) Canola Gourmet: Chocolate & Canola Bliss Sheri Coleman, NCGA

2:00

Exhibitor Break

3:45

Door Prizes Giveaway

4:00

Adjourn

Keynote Speaker Mike Jubinville Pro Farmer Canada

Gold Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

For more information, contact the NCGA office at 701-223-4124 or visit the website at northerncanola.com

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Pioneer® brand canola offers strong disease resistance for more muscular yields.

Roundup Ready® is a registered trademark used under license from Monsanto Company. The unique Clearfield symbol and Clearfield ® are registered trademarks of BASF. The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of DuPont. PIONEER® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. ®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks of Pioneer. © 2013 PHII. DUPPCN13003VA_090113_USCD