canola

Canola is a winter-growing oilseed crop adaptable to most arable areas of New South Wales with fertile soil and good drainage. Suitable soils range from the granites of the tablelands to the self-mulching clays of the north west.

Canola is consistently grown now in the better parts of the wheat belt, where rainfall is adequate. It is also grown successfully in more marginal rainfall areas, lake beds and floodplains in far western New South Wales, and under irrigation. See diagram below:

Growing canola is similar to growing wheat and uses the same machinery. However, canola production costs are higher than those for wheat as spraying is required to control insects, extra nitrogen may be necessary, and the crop may need to be windrowed just before harvesting. However, recently canola has been a more profitable crop than wheat for most growers.

The areas sown over time is shown in the diagram below:

Rotating canola with winter cereals and legumes is a successful strategy. Canola is sown and harvested a little earlier than wheat, so it tends to spread the workload over these busy periods.

Yields from cereal crops are usually higher if canola is introduced into the rotation; this is because of better disease and weed control and because of the different growth habit of canola. Another advantage is that canola can be trucked direct from farm to crushing plant and therefore is less likely to compete with other grains for storage space.

Australian breeding programs have been successful in releasing varieties which are higher yielding, have very high quality, desirable agronomic characteristics and good resistance to blackleg disease. Domestic demand for canola oil and meal continues to expand and there is a major export market for the seed in Japan. Potential exists for large-scale irrigation and dryland canola production in New South Wales. Until 1988, canola was known as rapeseed in Australia.

The first commercial seed of the variety, Target, was imported from Canada in 1967 by Meggitt Ltd. Production began to rise steadily in the late 1980s, particularly in New South Wales. The release of much higher yielding, high quality, disease resistant varieties with better agronomic features, coincided with a growing recognition of the value of canola in wheat rotations and this put the crop on a sound footing.

In 1999/2000, the Australian canola annual production was 2 460 000 tonnes and became sufficient to meet domestic demand. About 75% of Canola comes from New South Wales. Although domestic demand for canola in Australia continues to increase steadily, further increases in production are likely to generate exportable surpluses. Australian exports will find a ready market in Japan, which is anxious to find an additional supplier to Canada.

CANOLA USES

Canola is used entirely for its oil and protein. About 40% of the seed is a monounsaturated edible oil which is becoming increasingly important in human diets. After removal of the oil by crushing, a high protein meal remains, which is a valuable source of protein in animal diets.

The diagram below shows the major components of canola seed compared to soybean seed. The value of canola is largely based on the price of its oil but the meal by-product compares favourably with soymeal and can be readily sold at the same price per protein unit:

CANOLA OIL

Canola oil is used in cooking, salad oils, shortenings and more recently, in margarine. By the end of 1991 pure canola margarine had captured 7% of the domestic margarine market worth $300 million annually. Pure canola oil products had a 10% share of the domestic bottled oil market worth $111 million annually.

Canola oil is also blended with other vegetable oils for use in margarine and bottled oils.

Among the popular vegetable oils, canola oil is well placed from a health point of view. It has the lowest level of saturated fat (6%) and is second only to olive oil in having the highest level of monounsaturated fat (60%).

MEAL

The meal is the portion remaining after removal of the oil and contains proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and fibre. Canola meal is used in the Australian stockfeed industry as a protein supplement (mainly in pig and poultry feeds). Canola meal is more valuable nutritionally than sunflower meal, which it has replaced to a large extent. It is also being partly substituted for soymeal in many animal rations.

Yields from cereal crops are usually higher if canola is introduced into the rotation; this is because of better disease and weed control and because of the different growth habit of canola. Another advantage is that canola can be trucked direct from farm to crushing plant and therefore is less likely to compete with other grains for storage space.

Domestic demand for canola oil and meal continues to expand and there is a major export market for the seed in Japan. Potential exists for large-scale irrigation and dryland canola production in New South Wales.

Until 1988, canola was known as rapeseed in Australia. The first commercial seed of the variety, Target, was imported from Canada in 1967 by Meggitt Ltd. Production began to rise steadily in the late 1980s, particularly in New South Wales. The release of much higher yielding, high quality, disease resistant varieties with better agronomic features, coincided with a growing recognition of the value of canola in wheat rotations and this put the crop on a sound footing.

In 1990, the Australian canola annual production first exceeded 100,000 tonnes and became sufficient to meet domestic demand. About 75% of that production came from New South Wales.

Although domestic demand for canola in Australia continues to increase steadily, further increases in production are likely to generate exportable surpluses. Australian exports will find a ready market in Japan, which is anxious to find an additional supplier to Canada.

CROP USES

Canola is used entirely for its oil and protein. About 40% of the seed is a monounsaturated edible oil which is becoming increasingly important in human diets. After removal of the oil by crushing, a high protein meal remains, which is a valuable source of protein in animal diets.

The value of canola is largely based on the price of its oil but the meal by-product compares favourably with soymeal and can be readily sold at the same price per protein unit.

OIL

Canola oil is used in cooking, salad oils, shortenings and more recently, in margarine. By the end of 1991 pure canola margarine had captured 7% of the domestic margarine market worth $300 million annually. Pure canola oil products had a 10% share of the domestic bottled oil market worth $111 million annually.

Canola oil is also blended with other vegetable oils for use in margarine and bottled oils.

TABLE 1

Area, production and value of canola in New South Wales.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

ABARE estimate
NSW Agriculture estimate

Among the popular vegetable oils, canola oil is well placed from a health point of view. It has the lowest level of saturated fat (6%) and is second only to olive oil in having the highest level of monounsaturated fat (60%).