Mid-South Winter Canola Program Achieves Successful Harvest
August 31, 2024 As Mid-South farmers completed their first winter canola harvest this summer, results from the Corteva and Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables pilot program showed that Pioneer brand winter canola hybrids exceeded initial expectations with an average yield of 54 bu/A across 13 farms in western Kentucky and western Tennessee.
Based on university trials, yield results of 45 to 55 bu/A is a common target for the crop.
“We couldn’t have asked for better results for our first harvest of winter canola,” says Chad Berghoefer, Corteva Agriscience Global Product Director, Biofuels. “We are very pleased with these yield results – as well as the excellent grain quality – and look forward to more farmers participating in the program next year.”
Pioneer’s canola breeding program has developed proprietary winter canola hybrids well adapted to perform in the southern U.S. and serve as a new alternative for winter crop rotations for soybeans and potentially cotton. With these elite genetics, farmers can expect high yield potential and consistent oil content across a wide range of growing conditions to increase their winter crop field profitability.
For the 2023-2024 season, 5,000 acres were contracted across western Kentucky and western Tennessee. After a successful harvest, the program significantly expanded, achieving more than 35,000 acres contracted for the next crop year with expansion into northern Alabama, northern Mississippi, eastern Arkansas, eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana.
“We are excited about this program and hope to build on these promising results to meet consumers’ growing demand for renewable fuels, creating a more environmentally sustainable future, while driving additional revenue sources for farmers,” says Luis Copeland, Bunge’s Senior Director for Low Carbon Intensity Seeds. “We will add more delivery locations to provide farmers with more convenient options to transport their winter canola.”
The harvested winter canola is processed at a Bunge facility for the production of oil, which can be used as feedstock to the growing renewable fuels industry.
“We are proud of our unique partnership with Bunge and Corteva which allows us to cover the full value chain of the winter canola crop, from production to fuel,” says Stacey Orlandi, President of Chevron Renewable Energy Group. “Innovation and investment in the feedstock space is going to continue to be an important aspect for the future of the renewable fuels industry, and collaborations like this one are helping to support growth of lower carbon intensity fuels for the market.”
To learn more information about the winter canola program and how to contract acres is available online at Pioneer.com/WinterCanola.
Information from Corteva Agriscience
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
