Nov 03, 2009
Brazilian Farmers Experimenting With Canola As Alternative To Wheat Production
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Farmers in southern Brazil have a very hard time producing good quality wheat. The problem is that heavy rains during the harvest season can result in very poor quality wheat. That was certainly the case this year especially in the state of Parana where more than half of the wheat ended up as feed quality wheat. In their quest for an alternative to wheat, some farmers in southern Brazil are experimenting with canola production. The total production of canola in Brazil is still very tiny, but canola offers something that Brazil wants - another source of vegetable oil for biodiesel production.
In an effort to expand the various type of vegetable oils used to make biodiesel in Brazil, farmers in southern Brazil have started to look at the production of canola as an alternative source of oil. In their October Crop Report, Conab for the first time started to list the production of Canola. The area devoted to canola production is still very small and it is centered in the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, and Mato Grosso do Sul. Canola would be considered a winter crop in southern Brazil similar to wheat. It is planted after the harvest of soybeans or full-season corn and it would be harvested generally during the month of October allowing time for the farmer to plant another crop of either soybeans or corn.
In 2009, 30,900 hectares of canola were planted in Brazil and the state of Rio Grande do Sul accounted for 23,000 hectares. The average yield in Brazil is expected to be approximately 1400 kg/ha with a total Brazilian production of 42,000 tons. Canola seeds can be as much as 40% oil and a hectare of canola could produce as much as 500 liters of oil.
Currently, about 80% of the vegetable oil used in Brazilian biodiesel production is soybean oil and the government has been stressing the need to find other sources of vegetable oil in addition to soybeans. Brazilian farmers are very much on a learning curve when it comes to canola production, but many feel it could become a viable alternative to wheat production in southern Brazil.