News

Oilseeds Expertise - Farm Business Agronomist - Apr 2008

Profiting From Food Oils

We look at speciality food oil opportunities in the second in our oilseed rape improvement series

Speciality oilseed rape production for food oil is set to expand in a major way over the coming season following two years of successful commercial growing and attractive returns from a fast-growing market.

From just 750 ha in 2006, the area of Vistive™ High Oleic, Low Linolenic (HO,LL) oilseed rape harvested in 2007 grew to around 4000 ha. And more than 250 growers currently have some 10,000 ha of the speciality winter OSR in the ground on contracts delivering fixed premiums of £44/tonne.

But this isn’t even scratching the surface of industry demand for the healthy oil which minimises the level of harmful trans-fats in a wide variety of food products.  Indeed, UK crushers are currently looking to contract 30,000 ha of Vistive™ HO,LL cropping for harvest 2009, rising to 60,000 ha for 2010 and ultimately 200,000 ha/year.

Trans-Fat Drivers

Driving this demand is the realisation that trans-fats arising from the hydrogenation of unsaturated vegetable oils to improve their food processing value actually carry greater health risks than the saturated fats they were designed to replace.

A growing tide of legislation – initially to force trans-fat levels to be declared on food labels and subsequently to ban their inclusion altogether – coupled with mounting public pressure, is leading major food manufacturers and retailers across North America and Europe to commit themselves to reducing or eliminating trans-fats in their products.

Among the businesses leading this move here in the UK are all the major supermarkets, food manufacturers like Kellogs, Masterfoods, Nestle, Unilever and United Biscuits, and the fast food retailer, Macdonalds.  All of which means an attractive and rapidly growing market for speciality HO,LL crops bred to deliver the required unsaturated oil quality naturally without hydrogenation or costly alternative processing.

The extent of this market is crystal clear from recent experience in North America which has led the way in controlling trans-fats. In the first year of their commercial availability in 2005 around 100,000 acres of Vistive™ low-linolenic soyabeans were grown on contract in a single state.  This increased to 500,000 acres in six states the following year.  And in 2007 up to
2 million acres were harvested in no less than 10 states.

UK Opportunities

With the most extensive Vistive™ growing experience in Europe and the proven ability to produce and deliver quality, identity-preserved oilseeds, UK growers are currently best placed to take advantage of the developing speciality food oil market  this side of the Atlantic.

What is more, commercial experience clearly shows that the required oil quality is eminently achievable under far less rigid rotational and agronomic constraints than originally recommended.

“To earn the trust of the crushers and food industry from the start we had to more than meet their key oil quality requirements,” explains  Grainfarmers’ farm business manager, Chris Stevenson who has been at forefront of developing speciality oils in Lincolnshire from their original farm trialling in 2005.

“Linolenic acid levels of less than 3-4% have always been their primary need.  So, knowing the extent to which normal double low volunteers could compromise this, we made sure the first crops were grown either on virgin oilseed rape ground or after a break of at least four years from the crop.

“We also ensured Vistive™ crops were grown at least 50 metres away from other oilseed rapes, took particular care to minimise volunteers through agronomy and were especially diligent in cleaning drilling, harvesting and storage equipment.

“Monsanto’s own pre-movement analysis of our crops and those conducted by ADM ahead of crushing show we have been able to deliver handsomely on the quality front,” he points out. “Indeed, to date not one of our crops has failed to earn the full premium.

Growing Guidance

“Our experience has taught us that virgin OSR land isn’t essential to get into Vistive™ growing. Equally, we’re confident initial crops can meet the critical maximum linolenic spec after only a three year break from other rape types with the right agronomy.  And once the crop is established within the rotation, of course, volunteers cease to become an issue since they all have the right oil profile anyway.”

While linolenic acid levels can theoretically be influenced by pollen from other rape crops grown nearby, Chris Stevenson and his growers haven’t found such contamination presents a problem either. Even so, to be safe they still aim to grow their Vistive™ crops in blocks wherever possible and not immediately adjacent to double lows or HEAR.

“Apart from anything else, keeping them in blocks makes effective hygiene at drilling and harvesting very much simpler and the whole business easier to manage,” Chris notes. “And minimising shedding losses in previous oilseed rape crops followed by good volunteer management throughout the rotation is only good practice too. As is subsoiler OSR sowing to limit soil moisture loss and restrict both weed and volunteer germination.

“With a £44/tonne Vistive™ premium making the Splendor crops we have in the ground worth well over £400/tonne at current November 08 prices, doing them as well as possible is important anyway,” he insists.  “Particularly so, since our experience shows they’re perfectly capable of delivering 3.5-4.0 tonnes/ha with good agronomy, putting them very much on a par with what most growers can achieve from conventional double low varieties.”

Chris Stevenson’s experience with Splendor leaves him convinced that, as a relatively slow developer, the right agronomy for the variety means giving it priority at the start of OSR drilling from around August 20, getting it in the ground before September wherever  conditions permit.

As with all winter rapes, he recommends avoiding autocasting to get the most out of the crop; conserving moisture at every stage in seedbed preparation; establishing an optimum population of 40-50 plants/m2; maintaining good slug and pigeon control; keeping well on top of diseases like phoma and pests like flea and pollen beetle; gearing nitrogen fertilisation and growth regulation to Green Area Index; being prepared to apply sulphur routinely; and managing harvesting effectively with well-timed pre-harvest Roundup.

“As a low biomass type with very good disease resistance, we’ve found Splendor as easy to grow and harvest as Castille,” he reports.

“Following harvest, of course, you must identify and store it separately from other rape types and take care to avoid cross-contamination in storage. The crop then has to be held until the crusher is ready to process it. With our central storage network allowing movement off farm at harvest, though, this doesn’t present any difficulties. And early post-harvest sampling and testing gives valuable confidence that the critical oil quality spec will be made well in advance of delivery to the crush.

“Speciality oilseed rape isn’t for everyone,” he concludes. “But those prepared to do more than merely grow the biggest, lowest cost heap of produce are likely to find it an attractive proposition. And one that could stand them in particularly good stead in a future beyond mere commodity crop production. Anyone looking for a valuable alternative to sugar beet in their rotation should also find it fits the bill very well.”