(1,485 kb)
(1,485 kb)
Ask Canadians to name the king of Canada's crops, and they'll likely say wheat. Small wonder, when you consider that our wheat is exported to 60 countries and has rung up average annual sales of more than $2.8 billion during the past decade. But the golden grain's reign at the top has been threatened in recent years by a yellow-flowered prairie plant once deemed inedible.
Canola—the name is a hybrid of 'Canada' and 'oil'—actually dates back to the 1930s, when rapeseed was introduced from Europe for cross-Canada testing. A farmer in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan first planted it as a crop in 1936. But its main use then was as an industrial lubricant. Because of its high levels of specific fatty acids, its nutritional value was questionable. In 1956, the federal health department ruled that canola—then known as rapeseed—was not an approved edible oil in Canada. By the 1970s, however, after years of selection for new genetic traits, rapeseed had been transformed into a plant that yielded a healthy edible oil and a protein supplement for farm animals.
Since then, canola—grown primarily in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba—has gained ground on wheat and, for a time, was king of the crops. Though canola receipts totalled only $134 million in 1971, well behind registered sales of wheat at $646 million, canola briefly stole wheat's crown in 1998. Receipts topped $2.7 billion that year, about $900 million ahead of wheat sales, excluding durum (the wheat used in pasta), which is considered a separate crop.
More recently, however, canola has been a victim of its own success. Prices fell by nearly a third in 1999. In 2000, a record supply of Canadian canola, on top of an already saturated world supply of oilseeds, caused prices to fall further. Some farmers returned their fields to wheat and barley.
Despite bulging stocks, canola is still well-placed on Canada's crop list. Farmers are usually paid more per bushel for canola than for wheat. As well, its edible oil is a hit with nutritionists and diet-conscious consumers, and the leftover meal from crushing is a nutritious feed for livestock, poultry and pigs.
Today, canola oil is Canada's leading vegetable oil, accounting for three-quarters of all vegetable oils produced domestically. In 1998–99, about 45% of world trade in canola seeds originated in Canada, 10% of all trade in canola meal was Canadian, and 28% of the world's trade in canola oil involved Canadian oil. The United States purchased more than 52% of Canadian canola oil and 86% of meal exports, while Japan bought nearly half of the total Canadian exports of canola seed.