Camelina is a little-known crop with a long history and a potentially bright future.
It is an oilseed brassica crop with tiny seeds related to mustard and canola that can be used in food or feed, for oil, or for biofuel. Camelina is relatively frost and drought tolerant with low fertility requirements and is resistant to flea beetle. Although current weed control options are limited, new varieties with better broadleaf herbicide tolerance are now being developed for the market.
Winter and spring varieties are available, though winter varieties planted and tested at Lakehead University Research Station in Thunder Bay in 2022 did not show adequate survivability. In northern regions of Ontario, it would be wise to focus on spring camelina. In more temperate areas, it could fit in nicely as a winter cover and potential relay crop in a corn and soybean rotation.
Today, the oil is used in the animal food market, marketed for dogs and horses due to its anti-inflammatory properties and benefits for coat health. Flax oil is also used in this way in the animal market. Poultry and farmed fish can also benefit from camelina meal in their ration. Smart Earth Camelina is an established company in Western Canada with a focus on the pet food and biodiesel market for the past twenty years.
Currently, camelina meal is being sold into and studied in the US to be allowed as livestock feed in Canada. Camelina oil had been approved for human consumption since 2010. In 2014, camelina was included for the first time in Canada’s Advance Payments Program. Approximately 20,000 hectares are currently cultivated in Canada, mostly in the west. The Camelina Association of Canada projects that 1 million hectares could be planted in the future.
(Smart Earth Camelina – Carlene Sarvas photo – The Western Producer)
More recently, Signé Caméliné has been established in Quebec, in the Montérégie region, to press and export food grade camelina oil and seed food products. They recently won first prize for their roasted camelina oil product at a prestigious culinary competition in France, the Bocuse d’Or Sirha Innovation 2023. Camelina oil is a quality cooking or edible oil that is high in beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids and has a high smoke point at 475 degrees Fahrenheit. With a delicate taste and a golden colour, it could be an alternative to olive or canola oil for a variety of uses in the kitchen.
(Asparagus and Roasted Camelina Oil – Signé Caméline – Facebook)
Signé Caméline, along with Services Agritem, have now worked with producers mainly in Abitibi-Temiskamingue, growing production in the region from 10 hectares eight years ago to approximately 400 ha in 2022.
On the Ontario side, most in Temiskaming are unfamiliar with the crop. The Ontario Crop Research Centre – New Liskeard was approached by Semican to test 20 lines of camelina in 2023 to see if the crop can be grown. Hopefully, a successful growing season will introduce this crop alternative to Northern Ontario growers’ rotations as a low input option for diversification into novel and expanding markets.
It was a hot, dry day on May 31st, 2023 when the twenty varieties of camelina were planted for testing at the crop research centre in New Liskeard, with hope for rain and a productive season. A shallow seeding depth of 0.25-0.5 inches was targeted in heavy clay soil. The same production equipment for canola planting and combining can be used, so it can be easy for farmers to try it out.
(Photo credit by Leia Weaver, Melinda Drummond, at OCRC- NL)
(Camelina emergence June 9 2023 – no precipitation since a dry planting day May 31 – photo by Melinda Drummond OCRC-NL)