OCTOBER 2018 SEEDWORLD.COM / 15 Dzisiak. He points out that there is still a high potential for HO canola to further dis- place soybean oil and corn oil use in many food applications. “Ten years ago, there was only about 2 billion pounds of canola oil used by the North American food industry and today it’s 4.5 billion pounds,” Dzisiak explains. “The demand for oils to make more ready- to-eat foods, and snacks is not slowing down.” HO soybeans have been grown in the U.S. now for many years, and acreage will likely range from 1 million to 2 million acres in 2018, says Phil Kerr, president of food industry consulting firm SERIO Nutrition Solutions in St. Louis, Mo. He says industry estimates suggest that within the next five years, HO soybean acreage could rival the acreage of all of the canola produced in Canada in 2017. The two major varieties grown in the central U.S. in 2018 are Dupont Pioneer’s, now also a part of Corteva Agriscience, Plenish and Monsanto’s, now Bayer’s, Vistive Gold. Kerr says “their oleic acid profile composition is quite similar to HO oils from canola and other HO oilseeds, yet HO soybean oils offer improved flavor stability and the potential for lower price.” He notes that it has taken about 20 years to commercialize HO soybeans due to both long regulatory timelines for GM soybeans and the need for the U.S. food industry to urgently address the govern- ment order to stop using hydrogenated oils. “This led to substantial efforts to reformulate oils through blending of oils to achieve higher stability and suitability for use in food manufacturing,” Kerr says. In comparison, Kerr says HO canola achieved regulatory approval much ear- lier 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 soybeans (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 direc- tor, Trish Jordan. Eastern Canada might offer a unique opportunity for Vistive Gold because many growers already produce identity-preserved soybeans there. Corteva Agriscience says it will con- tinue 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 continues to increase, pending processor contracting opportuni- ties and product performance. Up with Omega The canola industry also has a current breeding focus on producing 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 circulatory and brain health, and can be found in salmon, mackerel and other oily fish. Cargill and BASF Plant Science are 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 generation of canola oil will allow food and feed companies to affordably 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 kilograms of fish,” says Andy Thomas, Nuseed global general manager of innovation and strategy. “It will help in meeting the growing global demand for 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. SW “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 kilograms of fish.” — Andy Thomas