b'there for biofuel, but with the European Union banning neonic insecticides a few years ago, their yields are down. So, we expect that their imports of canola oil from North America for biofuel use will increase quite substantially.Todays industrial canola varieties still contain high levels of erucic acid, similar to their ancestors and to rapeseed, which was grown in Canada during World War II to make lubricant oil for engines in naval ships. Rempel says demand for canola oil as a blending agent in biodiesel and aviation fuel is growing. Meanwhile, in North America, the Manitoba and Canadian federal governments announced in June CAD$2.9 million in funding for Azure Sustainable Fuels to do an engineering design study for a sustainable aviation fuel plant near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Also in June, Canadas first stand-alone renewable diesel refinery, a CAD$380M refinery in British Columbia, com-pleted construction. The Tidewater Renewables-owned facil-ity will use canola, tallow and tall oil to produce more than 170 million liters of biofuel a year. The renewable diesel will produce 80% to 90% less carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel diesel.In addition, four companiesCeres, Viterra, Richardson and Cargillare building canola crushing plants in Saskatchewan. Rempel attributes that substantial increase in crushing capacity to rising biofuel demand. To meet this demand, weve had the strategy to increaseA canola field.PHOTO: CORTEVAyields and not acreage, and breeding for yield increase will continue, he adds. But also ultimately, over the next decade, well see the results of breeding for increased segregation of oiladditional source of revenue for farmers while boosting biofuel profiles for all three canola end uses: food, feed and fuel. feedstock production.On the canola oil profile developments achieved so far,Justin Ingalls, commercial sales lead for Nuseed in North Rempel says, We already have the high-oleic profiles that haveAmerica, says the company introduced its first carinata hybrid a huge food market, and lower-oleic for livestock feed, as wellwith improved frost resilience for cover crop cultivation in a as omega fatty acid profiles being developed to replace marinesouthern U.S. winter cycle. fish oils for farming salmon. We still have high-erucic acid canolaThe hybrid, introduced in 2022, has a non-GMO herbicide grown for industrial oil manufacture, so we have a great founda- tolerance system, which is a flexibility plus for growers, and tion to build on with a lot of variability in oil profiles to chooseoffers high yield potential and nitrogen use efficiency. In terms from. And gene editing tools make breeding much faster. of biofuel opportunity, the hybrid offers a consistent oil con-Rempel says time will reveal whether the ideal canola oiltent (percentages in the mid-40s), Ingalls says, and comes with profiles for renewable diesel and aviation fuel significantly differbuilt-in certified sustainable contracts from Nuseed. This is just from the ones currently available.hybrid offering of hopefully many, says Ingalls, who adds that the The big breeding companies and some smaller firms as wellpotential for breeding improvements is high. as several Canadian and U.S. universities, private institutions andRabobank estimates there are 170 million hectares of existing government breeders are all working on this, he says. Its anfarmland in Europe and the Americas that could benefit from exciting time for canola and biofuel.cover cropping. Canada is not the only country with opportunity in canola. InNuseed estimates that by planting just 1.5% of that estimated the Southern U.S., Corteva announced a collaboration in Marchexisting cropland to non-food Nuseed carinata has the potential with Bunge and Chevron Ag Renewables to introduce propri- to annually produce 1 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel etary winter canola hybrids, primarily for the growing domesticfrom 2030 and the potential to annually remove 8 million metric renewable fuels market. Growers will use these hybrids as atons of CO2, Ingalls says.double-cropping system following soybeans or cotton.Nuseed is currently scaling sustainable carinata contract production in both South America and the Southern U.S., with Growing Feedstock Over Winterdevelopment programs underway in Europe and Australia. One exciting way to boost the sustainability of biofuels is to grow biofuel feedstock crops as cover crops. Cover crops helpMaximizing Each Ounceimprove soil health, reduce erosion and provide multiple otherScientists like Ryan Stoklosa, research chemical engineer and benefits. Introducing biofuel cover crops could provide anlead scientist of the Sustainable Biofuels and Co-Products 44/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2023'