About Winter Canola

The Winter Canola Program provides a contract with farmers to purchase their harvested winter canola crop with the option to use the oil to produce renewable fuel.

Supported by a partnership between Pioneer and Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables, the program is a unique closed-loop system that gives farmers access to a new crop and a new potential source of revenue, with a path to market to sell it. The goal is to increase the availability of vegetable oil feedstocks to help grow the domestic renewable fuels market.

Here’s a quick overview:

1. Participating farmers sign a contract with Bunge
2. Farmers plant Pioneer brand winter canola.
3. At harvest, farmers take winter canola to market at Bunge.
4. Bunge processes winter canola to create biofuel feedstock.
5. Chevron uses biofuel feedstock to produce renewable diesel, biodiesel, and sustainable aviation fuel.

For more specific details on how the Winter Canola Program works, visit Grow Gold With Winter Canola. You can also contact Alex Hibler, commercial manager of grain marketing at Bunge, or Kyle Holmberg, field agronomist at Pioneer.

In addition to providing a potential new income opportunity, adding winter canola to a rotation provides a cover crop that can enhance soil health by holding more nutrients, water, and carbon in the soil. Pioneer winter canola hybrids can be used in a double-crop system following soybeans or cotton and won’t interrupt row crop production. Plus, participating farmers get top hybrids and agronomic advice from Pioneer to maximize yield potential. Combined with the demand from Chevron for biodiesel and handling, and processing and grain marketing capabilities from Bunge, this gives farmers an entirely new opportunity for revenue when they participate in the Winter Canola Program. Read more about the reasons to grow winter canola.

Pioneer is building on a century of breeding and agronomic expertise to deliver a winter canola hybrid that’s uniquely suited to the Mid-South, increasing your chances of a successful harvest. Plus, the partnership with Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables can help provide market stability and contract assurances that all production from enrolled canola acres will be purchased. Simply put: Competitor programs don’t have access to Pioneer technology and agronomic support, and they don’t have the downstream market that we’ve established through this partnership with Bunge and Chevron Ag Renewables.

Pioneer brand winter canola seed is currently available from authorized retail locations in Kentucky and Tennessee that sell and service the Pioneer brand. To find a location near you, visit the Winter Canola Program page. You can also contact Kyle Holmberg, field agronomist at Pioneer.

Winter canola is planted in the fall and overwinters to be harvested in the early summer. By comparison, spring canola is planted in early spring and harvested in the fall. The plants are similar in terms of their biological makeup, although winter canola has better tolerance to cold and freezing. Due to its longer growing season, winter canola yields are about 20% to 30% higher than those of spring canola. Winter canola can be used in your current double-cropping system (as a rotational crop following corn or soybeans) or on acres that are fallow in winter.

Pioneer^® brand winter canola hybrids have been specially bred to be planted as a new double-cropping system in the Mid-South. Pioneer combined industry-leading research with top genetics to deliver superior disease resistance, winter hardiness, and high oil content.

Winter canola is planted in mid- to late September following the summer corn or soybean crop. Winter canola will sprout in about 5 to 7 days under the right conditions and requires around 600 GDUs to reach between 5 and 8 leaves with a stem diameter of 1/4 to 1/2 inch. This ensures the best situation for winter hardiness before becoming dormant (overwintering) during the coldest part of the winter. In early spring, the winter canola restarts growth and is typically harvested in late May or early June, making it a great companion for double-crop soybeans.

No. Winter canola can be used in rotation with winter wheat since it needs two to three years before planting in the same field for disease prevention.

Pioneer is currently researching how winter canola fares with no-till practices. We’ll provide an update once the research is complete.

There are several differences between managing winter canola and winter wheat. In comparison to winter wheat, winter canola:

• Is a bit more sensitive to soil pH
• Does not tolerate soggy fields or water-logged soil; it won't grow well on land with poor drainage or that's prone to flooding
• Is sensitive to herbicides typically used in wheat production, so any sprayers used in wheat must be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed
• Needs slightly higher nitrogen and sulfur
• Has a growth point above ground, making the plant more susceptible to physical damage, environmental conditions (such as early season freezes), and leaf-eating insects during early growth and development

To increase the chances of plant survival, make sure the crop is planted and has enough time to develop three to four leaves prior to the predicted first freeze date. General guidance is to plant at least six weeks before the first freeze.

No, you will not need new or different equipment to plant and harvest winter canola. You can use traditional wheat, corn, and soybean planting and harvest equipment with minimal retrofits. Incorporating winter canola into a rotation is easy, as it fits right into current cropping systems. It follows traditional timing and equipment used for winter wheat crop rotations.

Farmers most often choose one of two ways to work winter canola into their production: (1) planting it in September on what would have been fallow acres, or (2) planting it in rotation with winter wheat or other double-cropping systems every two to three years.

When another crop (such as winter canola) is added to a rotation, other crops in the rotation tend to have better yields and better resistance to pests. Compared to winter wheat, winter canola has two other advantages in double-cropping systems:

• Canola generally matures earlier than wheat, which allows earlier planting of spring crops.
• Canola leaves less residue in the field than wheat, making no-till planting of the summer crop easier.

Based on university trials in the Mid-South, we anticipate yields of 45 to 55 bu/acre, with potential to be higher based on individual operations.

Yes, crop insurance is available in some counties. Talk with your crop insurance provider to discuss options that are available in your area.

Winter canola does best when weeds are controlled early. The critical weed-free period for canola is from emergence to the plant’s 4-leaf stage (Martin et al., 2001; Harker et al., 2008). If you delay weed control until the 6- to 7-leaf stage you could experience a significant loss in yield (20% in a 2008 study from Harker et al.). Because fields and farmers' experiences can vary, consult with Pioneer’s expert canola field agronomist Kyle Holmberg for specific guidance on your land.

For the Winter Canola Program, we’re offering acreage-stye grain contracts that include an Act of God Clause as well as various pricing alternatives. For more specific information, contact Alex Hibler, commercial manager of grain marketing at Bunge.

Like any crop, revenue will vary according to your individual operation and practices. If winter canola is planted on fallow ground, it can be an opportunity for extra revenue. If you’re familiar with growing winter wheat, the revenue for winter canola is competitive with that crop.

We’ve made it convenient for farmers in the Mid-South to get their grain to market. There are multiple Bunge elevators in northwest Tennessee and southwest Kentucky (along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers) that are ready to process winter canola. We also continue to expand delivery locations. For specific information on finding an elevator near you, contact Alex Hibler, commercial manager of grain marketing at Bunge.

As the world prioritizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitions to lower carbon intensity feedstock sources, the demand for renewable fuels from agricultural crops is expected to increase. As an example of their strong commitment to renewable fuels, Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables LLC is building a new oilseed processing plant in Destrehan, Louisiana, that’s specifically designed to process softseeds, such as winter canola, soybeans, and others.

Canola seeds contain approximately 40% oil and 17–26% protein.

No. Demand for corn and soybeans is forecasted to continue to be strong, and winter canola isn’t a replacement for those crops.

Yes, both biodiesel and renewable diesel can be used in new and existing engines and infrastructure and often without any modification. Go to EnDura Fuels™ to learn more.