New Canola Innovation Strategy Calls for Science-Based Regulatory System

Mar 10, 2022

Following in-depth consultations with stakeholders throughout 2021 the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) has released an updated Canola Innovation Strategy, a March 10 news release says.

“Canola’s position as one of the world’s most important oilseeds and Canada’s most valuable crop is built upon continued investment in research and innovation,” Curtis Rempel, CCC vice president of crop production and innovation, says in the release.

The release notes the strategy articulates a path for innovation and research to achieve the industry’s Keep It Coming 2025 strategic goals and beyond. It focuses on four key pillars – performance, precision, protection and product, and calls for a predictable and science-based regulatory system.

“These discussions also helped identify current gaps and opportunities in various aspects of canola innovation, pointing the way to our research funding priorities for the Next Policy Framework for agriculture and other funding opportunities,” Rempel explains.

The four key pillars of the strategy are:

Performance – Increase productivity and meet current and future customer needs for oil and protein. Remain a top crop for Canadian producers, sequester more carbon in the soil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to biodiversity.
Precision – Use current and new field tools and technologies to increase productivity and reduce the environmental footprint of canola.
Protection – Protect the crop from pests and other threats to productivity, including climate change factors, while also protecting markets.
Product – Ensure Canada’s canola industry can supply current customers while also being flexible to adapt to changing market demands for oil, meal, protein and fuel.

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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.