Canada’s Canola Growers Aim for Bigger Yields

Jan 10, 2014

Canola Council of Canada Sets 2025 Target

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) announced its new target for Canada’s canola industry Thursday, in Winnipeg Manitoba. Its goal is to increase production of canola to 26 million tonnes and 52 bushels per acre by the year 2025. That’s a 40 per cent increase.

CCC has even launched a website called “Keep it Coming 2025,” with the tagline “52 by 2025”. "These are bold targets, no doubt about it," said Terry Youzwa, Chairman of the CCC Board of Directors. "But we believe that it can be done, and it can be done responsibly and sustainably.”

Youzwa said the industry has outlined three priorities to achieve its new goal based on sustainability and scientific research, target marketing, and gaining market access to new trade opportunities. The industry believes that growing a larger crop can be achieved through improved yields. Coupled with better yields, good marketing and open trade, it’s a recipe for success. Trade is especially important. Currently, 85 per cent of Canada’s canola crop is exported.

While it’s an ambitious goal, the industry has a good track record on delivering on its promises. The canola industry grew seven million tonnes in 2007, and hit the 15 million tonnes mark earlier than its target date of 2015. In 2013, canola was a bumper crop with 19.8 million tonnes. Indeed, the western Canada crop has averaged 15 million tonnes per year for the past three years.

Canola is known as Canada’s crop. It was developed from rapeseed in Manitoba in the 1970s. Over the years, the crop has grown in popularity among farmers. Today, there are 43,000 Canadian canola growers.

"Every additional bushel of canola represents an opportunity to make our agricultural sector stronger," said Youzwa.”We've grown from a niche crop to an industry leader generating $19.3 billion in economic activity every year, and we know we can do even more."

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.