Conservative budget good news for canola industry –Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered the budget this week which included several good news items for the canola industry. For agriculture in general, Minister Flaherty committed an extra $1 billion over and above the $500 million committed during the campaign. There were also reductions in corporate tax rates to be spread over the next couple of years. Most noteworthy was a specific reference to the future support of a biofuels strategy along with a climate change plan that is also under development. It is reasonable to expect that a biodiesel policy will fall into these intiatives and we should see a lot of government activity on this front over the next couple of months. For all the details, go to: http://www.fin.gc.ca/budtoce/2006/budliste.htm
Council president says emerging biofuels industry could boost canola production – Barb Isman told Reuters reporter Marcie Nicholson in Winnipeg this week that the biofuels strategy promised in the federal budget “will trigger increased research and development, and that increased research and development will result in us, hopefully by the end of the decade, being around 14 million tonnes of production on average triggered off of food and non-food use demand". According to the Reuters report, Isman expected the combination of the government's cash injection plus higher canola prices will result in a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in planted acres compared to 2005, up from Statscan's projected 14.5 percent drop in its March planting intentions report.
Canola Council launches biodiesel e-letter – The first edition of a regular e-letter highlighting world news about biodiesel went to Council contacts this week. Check it out at http://www.canola-council.org/biodiesel/. Subscribe by emailing admin@canola-council.org. Key in “Add me to the Diesel Digest list”!
ADM’s North Dakota biodiesel plant will run on Canadian canola – ADM’s planned 85 million gallon per year biodiesel facility in Velva, North Dakota will use canola as its primary feedstock – and most of it is likely to come from Canada. According to company reports, the plant will require canola production from 1 million acres. U.S. canola growers are expected to seed about 923,000 acres in 2006. Barry Coleman, executive director of the North Dakota based Northern Canola Growers Association, estimates that at least half the demand at the Velva plant would be met by Canadian canola. The ADM biodiesel plant is expected to be up and running by April 2007, after which Coleman predicts US canola acres should start to increase.
Barb Isman, president of the Canola Council of Canada, said while any demand for Canadian canola was welcomed, it would be disappointing for Canada if the bulk seed was sent to the U.S. for processing only to be bought back as biodiesel. "To the extent possible, we would like a policy regime in place that would allow Canada, as the world's preeminent canola grower, to actually have a canola based biodiesel industry in this country to serve this market," said Isman.
Cargill plans to spend over 50 million euro to build a rapeseed crushing plant at its existing site at the port of Montoir in western France. Stat Communications reports that construction is expected to commence by the end of 2006.The plant will crush up to 600,000 tonnes per year. This will generate to up to 250,000 tonnes per year of oil, with most being used for biodiesel production and around 350,000 tonnes of meal for sale on local feed markets. For more on this story, go to the Statpub website.
STC testing canola biodiesel mix – The Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) will be using a two percent biodiesel fuel mixture in more than half its coaches over the next year to test the viability of using the more environmentally-friendly fuel in all its coaches. STC plans to blend the fuel in its storage tanks in Saskatoon and use the mixture in all buses which fuel at that facility, approximately 54 percent of its fleet. In the course of a year, STC would use one millionlitres of diesel fuel from its Saskatoon facility. "The announcement represents one of many important steps toward developing a sustainable biodiesel industry in Saskatchewan. Achieving that end will require commitment from producers, government and industry to develop a market for biodiesel and demonstrate its economic and environmental benefits," Saskatchewan Bio-diesel Development Task Force Co-chair Judie Dyck said. "STC's commitment to this project takes us a little further down that road."
No consensus on GM labelling at Ottawa Codex meeting – The Codex Committee on Food Labelling was held in Ottawa this week. Canola Council vp of crop production and biotechnology JoAnne Buth reports that, as expected, there was no consensus on the Draft Guidelines for the Labelling of Foods obtained through Certain Techniques of Genetic Modification/Genetic Engineering.
Although Canada, the US and several other countries supported removing this discussion from Codex, the majority of countries, led by the EU, managed to get another working group on this issue. The working group will be chaired by Norway, Argentina and Ghana. The scope of the working group is fairly narrow and will look at the current rationale for GM labelling, identification of the current standards and labelling systems in use and the practical experiences of countries. Canada needs to ensure that this working group stays on track and does not start developing new labelling guidelines.
Trans fat definition closer – Also at Codex, the decision was made to advance the draft definition of trans fatty acids for final adoption at the next Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting. Trans fatty acids “are defined as all the geometrical isomers of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids having non-conjugated, interrupted by at least one methylene group, carbon-carbon double bonds in the trans configuration.”
Canola on Oprah – This past Monday, one of Oprah’s regular medical guests Dr Oz expounded on healthy oils – including canola! Check the website www.oprah.com and search for Dr Oz. Here’s some of what he said:
”There are many healthy oils, such as olive oil, sesame seed oil, flaxseed oil, grape seed oil and canola oil. To maximize their health benefits, keep it in a dark bottle or in your refrigerator—that's how to keep it healthy so it doesn't go rancid. Healthy oils are delicate, you have to treat them delicately." (We emailed to tell him he could store canola oil in the cupboard!)
Ontario winter canola crop recovering well from spring frost – Last week, Ontario crop specialist Peter Johnson said it appeared the bulk of the province’s winter canola – most of it planted in Lambton and Kent counties – had been done in by frost. But in the latest update of the crop hotline, Johnson said the damage may not be as bad as it originally appeared. He says it looks as though portions of the crop in Kent County will rebound. Johnson estimated winter canola acreage in Lambton and Kent counties between 5,000 and 6,000 acres. A small amount of winter canola, perhaps 1,000 acres, was in the ground up through the Ripley, Walkerton and Harriston areas, but the status of that crop is still not clear.
Canola oil is “right for you” – In May’s edition of popular US magazine Cooking light, there’s a story titled “Choosing foods that are right for you” highlighting the USDA Health and Human Services updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The author encourages readers to eat more heart healthy fats including canola oil. Two glass containers featuring canola oil and olive oil are featured in the “one day’s worth” page. Check it out at Cooking Light.
Canola . . Good for Every Body now on the web – A new 16 page magazine format booklet called Canola . . Good for Every Body has just been posted on the Council website at http://www.canola-council.org/canola-industry/canadian-canola-industry/. It details the winning qualities of canola oil and meal for food processors and consumers and was mailed with the April issue of the US magazine Food Product Design to 10 thousand subscribers. The Council has a good stock of copies so if you’d like to order one or many, email admin@canola-council.org.
Menu musings – CanolaInfo spokesperson and Registerd Dietitian Janice Bissex noticed a new menu note at Legal Sea Foods, a popular upscale fish restaurant chain in the US. New to the menu - “Legal Sea Foods is committed to the health and well being of our guests, therefore, all of our seafood is fried in canola oil that is free of trans-fatty acids and cholesterol”. Reel-ly good news!
Bienvenido to the Council’s new Spanish website – Check it out!
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Biodiesel: Powered by Canola
The Westin Calgary
July 17 – 18, 2006
Canola Ink is your biweekly update from the Canola Council of Canada.
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