Smart Earth Camelina Corporation shipped an historic first rail tank car of Camelina oil from the Canadian Prairies to an aquaculture customer in Vancouver.
In collaboration with crush partner Virtex Farm Foods, this milestone rail car was loaded at Osler, SK on February 24th, the first of many cars destined for the high-value sustainable aquaculture feed market.
After almost 20 years of research and development by Smart Earth, Camelina sativa (camelina) is now a viable option for Prairie farmers. Camelina is poised to become the next Made-in-Canada oilseed crop of significance at the farm gate and throughout the value chain.
Camelina is a unique, dryland oilseed crop that can be produced on marginal lands with significantly lower inputs than other oilseeds, while providing competitive yields. The oil profile is similar to flax oil in that it provides nutritious High-Omega oil; but it has greater oxidative stability than flax.
Camelina is a high-yielding source of nutritionally important Omega fatty acids and provides excellent quality meal and oil for animal feed and aquaculture.
Camelina oil is in demand for aquaculture because it improves the Omega3 | Omega 6 ratio in farmed fish. It also reduces the need to use marine-based fish oil in the feed – making it more sustainable than traditional feeds.
When used in chicken feed, Camelina meal produces High-Omega eggs and meat. Other promising markets include dairy, companion pets and human health and nutrition.
As the leading global Camelina enterprise based in Saskatoon, Smart Earth is dedicated to developing the best Camelina varieties available while working with growers to provide excellent production opportunities. The company maintains a continuous plant-breeding program unmatched in scale and scope. It recently launched Cypress, a new Camelina variety with 40 per cent larger seeds (in comparison to common Camelina) and is also poised to launch a non-GMO herbicide-tolerant variety in Canada, pending regulatory approval.
Smart Earth’s plant-breeding activities provide a significant pipeline of trait development to ensure maximum yield and profitability for growers. The company is currently contracting with growers throughout the Prairie region for commercial production in the 2020 season. It has developed several delivery points throughout Saskatchewan to meet growers’ needs.
Smart Earth provides a closed-loop fully priced production contract, complete with high-quality Cypress seed, backed by experienced agronomic support. Growers interested in a Camelina production contract should visit the Smart Earth website to learn more.
The first rail tank car is loaded with Camelina oil (Photos: Smart Earth Camelina)