January 20, 2014
Canadaaims for26 million tonnes rapeseed production by 2015
The Canola Council of Canada has set a newtarget of 26 million tonnes in rapeseed productionby 2025followingthe achievement of a 15 million tonnes average production target which is fulfilled two years earlier.
The effort will berealisedthrough additionalplanting as well ashigher yields averaging 1.18 tonnesper acre. Yieldsare currentlyset atafive-year average of 0.8 tonne.
"That''s a bold target, no doubt about it, but it can be done and it can be done responsibly and sustainably," said council chair and Saskatchewan farmer, Terry Youzwa.
Youzwaadded thatthe rapeseed industry has set and met its previous production targets- seven million tonnes by 2007 and 15 million by 2015.
In 2013, Canada produced a record 18 million tonnes of rapeseed from about 20 million acres, averaging a record 0.91 tonne an acre. Rapeseed production has averaged 15 million tonnes over the past three years, Youzwa said.
Last crop year, Canada exported eight million tonnes of seed, processed 7.5 million tonnes domestically, and exported a lot of the resulting oil and meal, he said.
Key to meeting past targetsare market demand and the ability for farmers to make a profit growing rapeseed. Both will be needed to reach the new target.
The council estimates with an increasing population, global rapeseed oil demand will reach 250 million tonnes by 2025, up 67% or 100 million tonnes from this month.
With rising income in the world, more consumersare expected toseek a healthy vegetable oil such as rapeseed. The world will also need more protein to feed livestock, creating more demand for rapeseed meal, Youzwa said.
Boosting Canadian rapeseed production to 26 million tonnes is a "formidable task," and success is not guaranteed, said council president Patti Miller. About 1.18 tonnes/acrerepresents a 53% increase from the current average, and 0.27 tonne or 30% higher than this year''s record.
Getting to 1.13 tonnes an acre by 2015 means Canadian rapeseed yields will have to rise, on average, 4% (compounded) a year. Average rapeseed yieldsin the last decadeare only 16% higher than the previous 10-year average.
Some of the yield increase will come from improved genetics in new varieties, said Neil Arbuckle, a rapeseed council director and Monsanto''s western marketing lead for seed and traits.
However,most of the increase will come from improved agronomics, Youzwa said. The goal will be to maximise the production from every rapeseed planted, he added.
Youzwa stressed higher rapeseed production will be done sustainably,hence, the emphasis on boosting yields, not acres.Meanwhile, agronomists have contended thatmany farmers are growing rapeseed too often in rotations, increasing the risk from diseases, insects and weeds.
Part of the Canola Council''s strategy is to differentiate and demonstrate rapeseed''s benefits, said council director Neil Sabourin, who also works for Cargill.
The council will also push for a more extensive free trade and the reductiom oftariff and non-tariff trade barriers, said Pat Van Osch, a CCC director and vice-president of Richardson International.