The Canola Week 2021 online conference, held November 30 to December 2, 2021, combined three popular events on the annual canola calendar – Keith Downey’s Canola Industry Meeting, Canola Discovery Forum and Canola Innovation Day. This collection of short articles covers just a few of the highlights.

At Canola Week 2021, Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada, presented on the importance of research and innovation to meet increasing demand for Canadian canola, while ensuring sustainability. This article is based on that presentation.

Renewable diesel processing facilities are in a building boom in the U.S. and Canada. The primary feedstock for renewable diesel is plant-based oils and a secondary feedstock will be as much used cooking oil as the processors can get.

Canola needs constant innovation to increase supply, to maintain high demand for its oil and protein, and to improve its environmental footprint. Through 2021, the Canola Council of Canada consulted with canola grower organizations and companies along the value chain to identify innovation focal points to achieve these objectives.

Canola crops tend to yield more when they start off with five to eight plants per square foot, and when seedlings emerge at the same time. Growers can also often save extra management costs for flea beetles, for example, when plants germinate and emerge quickly.