58 / SEEDWORLD.COM FEBRUARY 2018 achieve higher stability and suitability for use in food manufac- ture,” Kerr says. In comparison, Kerr says HO canola achieved regulatory approval much earlier due in part to the comparative ease of making genetic enhancements, and also because it didn't face the anti-GMO consumer acceptance environment that HO soy- beans (made through transgenic biotech methods) have faced.    As to when or whether Vistive Gold will be available in Canada, Monsanto says it will decide on that once it achieves regulatory approval in China. Canadian commercialization would require an interested crushing plant, says the firm’s Canadian public and industry affairs director, Trish Jordan. She adds that Eastern Canada might potentially offer a unique opportunity for Vistive Gold because many growers already produce identity- preserved (segregated) soybeans there. DuPont Pioneer says it will continue to evaluate market opportunities for its Plenish HO soybean varieties and hopes to introduce them in Canada at some point. Product manager Brian Buckallew says downstream demand for these varieties contin- ues to increase, pending processor contracting opportunities and product performance. Up with Omega The canola industry also has a current breeding focus on pro- ducing varieties with increased Omega 3 and EPA/DHA fatty acids, “as a plant-based system,” notes Rempel, “to preserve global fish stocks.” These fatty acids are important for circula- tory and brain health, and can be found in salmon, mackerel and other oily fish, as well as in flax, hemp and other oilseed crops. Cargill and BASF Plant Science are currently co-developing canola varieties in this vein. Debonte reports that “as the public becomes more aware of the heart health benefits of EPA and DHA Omega-3s, significant growth in demand is forecast. This next gen- eration of canola oil will allow food and feed companies to afford- ably offer [these fatty acids] in a wide variety of products.” Nuseed (of parent company Nufarm) has also developed a DHA-rich Omega-3 canola variety using genes from microal- gae, and has submitted applications for its regulatory approval in Canada, the U.S. and Australia (the company also offers HO canola.) “One hectare of our Omega-3 canola has the potential to provide the same amount of Omega-3 oil as would be extracted from 10,000 kg of fish,” says Nuseed global general manager innovation & strategy, Andy Thomas. “It will help in meeting the growing global demand for increased Omega-3 consumption.” However, while Dzisiak acknowledges that there is some interest in higher Omega fatty acid canola oil for both human health markets and as an ingredient in fish food, he points out that these traits (as well as extra-low saturated fat content) are niche ‘small-acre’ traits, currently amounting to only hundreds of thousands of acres in North America. High Omega-3 canola, he notes, also has to be grown separately from commodity canola, which involves strict production practices. Dzisiak predicts that in commodity canola, higher protein meal is the next big thing in terms of breeding activity and acreage growth. Canola meal is already fed to dairy cattle, he says, and there are opportunities to expand its use as a feed ingredient for swine, poultry and farmed fish. SW