Canada: Canola sees drop in oil content

The oil content of the this year’s canola crop is not great. It’s not as bad as 2021, but well below average levels from 2010-20. The mean oil content for canola samples submitted to the Canadian Grain Commission was 42.6 per cent this year. The 10 year average is 43.7 per cent. The reason for the lower oil content is pretty simple, said Veronique Barthet, program manager for oilseeds monitoring with the grain commission. Hot and dry weather in July and August, especially warm nights, prevented canola plants from producing oil inside the seed. “During the cool nights, the crop has time to recover. This was not the case this year,” said Barthet, who spoke Dec. 3 at CanolaWeek, a Canola Council of Canada event in Saskatoon. “So, there is lower oil content…. The good news? It’s not as low as 2021.” The mean (average) oil content of canola was 41.3 per cent in 2021, a growing season with severe drought across the Prairies. Looking back at the last few years, from 2021-24 the oil ...