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Episode notes

Waves of golden flowers can currently be seen rippling in the wind across many parts of Northern Europe as the rapeseed oil harvest is approaching. Oil seed rape is grown in many parts of the world, but it is in Canada that the crop is a real success story.

Rapeseed oil grown in Canada is a derivative of oil seed rape, known as Canola, and like the rapeseed oil produced in Europe it is a highly versatile oil used for both animal and human consumption. The oil is high in protein and low in saturated fats, so it is healthy too.

In this episode we hear from farmers who produce rich golden oils and dressings from the crop and we hear about a real farming gamechanger for canola growers: InVigor. A hybrid canola that not only increases yield but also reduces something that is the bane of canola and rapeseed growers around the world: pod shatter. Pod shatter leads to millions of dollars of crops being lost when the pods that contain the so-called ‘black gold’ – the seeds that are crushed to make the oil – are shattered by wind and rain before the farmers can get the crop in to press it. With the right technology, this can now be a problem consigned to the past.

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