Seven research projects focus on canola

Canola is just one of the crops that received federal and provincial funding for research.

Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit announced a total of $14.7 million to support crop-related research in 2024.

SaskCanola said it was committing $836,227 to support seven new diverse research projects over the next five years under the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund (ADF).

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will take the lead on three of those projects including finding innovations to control troublesome weeds, understanding, mitigating, and managing PPO inhibitor (Group 14)-resistant kochia and identifying new genetic resources to optimize the canola oil profile.

University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers will study three areas including the study of sclerotinia sclerotiorum-infecting viruses collected from Saskatchewan for their potential role in disease control and the development of a Co-Extruded Canola Meal and Pea Starch Product to Replace Dietary Soybean Meal.

The third project will be led by Dr. Jeff Schoenau, a professor of soil fertility and professional agrologist, who works in the Department of Soil Science at USask.

Canola crushers use bentonite clay, a natural volcanic clay in canola oil production. Schoenau’s work will focus on land application of spent filtration clay which is a by-product of canola crushing and determine the effects on Saskatchewan soils and crops.

SaskCanola Research Chair Codie Nagy said it’s important to research, especially with the anticipated increase in canola crush capacity in Saskatchewan.