Feds invest $12 million into canola

Sep 04, 2018

The Canola Council of Canada will use the funding for research

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Ottawa is investing into one of Canada’s most productive sectors.

Today, Lawrence MacAulay, federal ag minister, announced the government is supporting the canola industry with a $12.1-million investment over five years to the Canola Council of Canada under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

“The investment we announced today will help keep the sector on the cutting edge so it continues to grow sustainably while contributing to our economy and supporting well-paying middle class jobs,” MacAulay said in a release today.

With the investment, the Canadian ag industry will help the government meet its goal of reaching $75 billion in annual ag exports by 2025.

“Canola is all about innovation,” said Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada, told Farms.com today. “We have to constantly be looking at the next opportunities for the crop and this investment into research and innovation is critical for the success of the industry.”

The Canola Council of Canada will use the funding to support its six project themes.

The project areas include exploring the value of canola as a livestock feed ingredient, optimizing yields and increasing sustainability.

All six themes “are incredibly important to addressing Agriculture Canada’s views on climate change,” Everson said. “They are also good from a producer standpoint because, if farmers are reducing their environmental footprints, there’s a good chance they’re saving money too.

“The theme on knowledge transfer is very important as well. Once we’ve conducted studies and examined results, we need to be able to effectively communicate our findings to others in the industry so they too can benefit from what we’ve found.”

ImagineGolf/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.