Because of a long tradition of growing wheat and a lack of regional crushing facilities, canola cultivation has not gained in the U.S. as researchers have long expected it to. However, according to Jack Brown, a University of Idaho oilseed breeder and geneticist, over the past 22 years researchers have been able to increase yields of winter canola by 33% or 1,000 pounds per acre and increase yields of spring canola by 600 pounds per acre because of improved genetics and agricultural practices. By growing winter canola a farmer can get two crops – the silage, or ‘canolage’ and a second crop of canola seeds, giving farmers higher returns than winter wheat or peas. The lack of local crushing facilities has been rectified with the establishment of a food-grade canola processing plant in Warden, Washington by Pacific Coast Canola in 2012. At capacity the plant can process 1,100 metric tons of canola seeds per day, and can create 40 million tons of canola oil and 220,000 metric tons of canola meal per year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) canola acreage is increasing; with canola being Washington State’s most common oilseed crop with acreage more than doubling to 36,000 acres.
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