Your Reading List

Canadian Canola Gains U.S. Approval

By 
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: October 6, 2011

,

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Canadian crops such as canola and corn in U.S. biofuels Sept. 29, a move that lifted Canadian canola prices and may help the U.S. meet its ambitious targets for biofuels.

The EPA s designation of Canadian crops as a renewable biomass will allow U.S. biofuel makers to collect tax credits for using them, said Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth.

I suspect we will see more canola moving into the U.S. now, Buth said in an interview. The Canadian industry estimates the U.S. market is worth about $450 million per year.

Read Also

Steve Froese says the PhiBer drone service trailer can managed four drones. Photo: John Greig

VIDEO: PhiBer drone carrier wins ag tech innovation award

PhiBer Manufacturing’s Dash Carrier trailer can land, recharge and refill four drones. The Manitoba company won the ag tech innovation at Ag in Motion 2025.

Canada becomes the first country outside the United States to receive approval under the EPA s land use test on an aggregate basis, said Ben Evans, spokesman for the U.S.-based National Biodiesel Board.

That means Canada has provided assurances that overall it is not bringing more net farmland into production, so farmers don t have to individually prove the same thing to qualify under the U.S. biodiesel mandate.

The U.S. Congress has set a goal of blending 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel into transportation fuel by 2022 and that target is large enough that there s little risk of Canadian crops displacing U.S. feedstocks like soybeans from the biodiesel mix, Evans said.

I don t think you ll see a huge flood, but a gradual increase of canola entering the U.S. biodiesel industry, Evans said in an interview. It s a positive development.

In 2010, soybean oil made up half of the feedstock used in production of U.S. biodiesel, followed by animal fats, Evans said.

The U.S. Canola Association also supports the decision, said Dale Thorenson, the association s assistant director.

Last year, the EPA placed canola oil on an equal footing with soyoil, ruling that it emits low enough greenhouse gas levels to qualify for the U.S. mandate to increase renewable fuel production.

That decision allowed biodiesel makers to get credits for using U.S. canola, but Canadian crops did not qualify.

Canada is the world s top exporter of canola, a rapeseed variant that is used mostly for vegetable oil and livestock feed. Top Canadian canola crushers include Cargill Inc., Viterra Inc., Bunge Ltd., Richardson International Limited, Louis Dreyfus and Archer Daniels Midland.

Canada is normally a net importer of corn

explore

Stories from our other publications