Manitoba Canola Growers Welcomes Biodiesel Requirement Increase

Jan 20, 2021

Manitoba Canola Growers Association (MCGA) is pleased with the Manitoba Government’s announcement in late December approving a phased-in increase to the biodiesel requirement.

Effective Jan. 1, 2021 the mandate increased to 3.5 per cent from two per cent, and it will rise again to five per cent on Jan. 1, 2022.

MCGA says this policy change is an effective way to reduce emissions from transportation fuel while diversifying markets for canola and increasing economic opportunities and demand right here at home.

“Increasing the demand for biodiesel in Manitoba is a target our board has been working on for the better part of a decade,” says Delaney Ross Burtnack, MCGA Executive Director. “We have long recognized that this represents opportunity for canola farmers and Manitoba’s economy through the expansion of a stable, domestic market, while meeting emission reduction goals.”

MCGA says this policy sends a strong market signal for more domestic canola processing and investment in renewable fuel production here in Manitoba.

“Canola is an excellent feedstock for biodiesel,” added Ross Burtnack. "We anticipate that this change will generate more opportunity for investment in this sector. Continuing Manitoba’s clean fuel leadership is a step in the right direction for our environment, our economy and our farmers.”

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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.