Canada’s hot and dry growing season in 2021 cut into the oil content of the country’s canola crop, with preliminary data pointing to the second-lowest oil content of the past two decades.
Preliminary sample data compiled by the Canadian Grain Commission shows average oil content for number one quality canola in 2021/22 at 41.9 per cent. That compares with the 44.1 per cent recorded the previous year and the five-year average of 44.4 per cent. The last time the oil content dipped below 42 per cent was the 2003/04 crop that saw oil levels at only 41.8 per cent.
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Of the 1,703 number one quality samples studied to date, canola oil content across all grades ranged anywhere from 33.9 per cent to 49.4 per cent in Western Canada. On a provincial basis, Manitoba and Saskatchewan both reported average oil content at 41.7 per cent and 41.8 per cent respectively, while Alberta was slightly higher at 42.3 per cent.
While oil levels were down, protein was higher on the year with average protein levels for number one canola in Western Canada hitting 23.7 per cent. That marked the highest average protein level of the past two decades of Canadian Grain Commission data. The high average protein level compares with 20.8 per cent the previous year and the five-year average of 20.5 per cent.
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