Cargill Opens Canola Research Farm in Saskatchewan

21/05/07 Cargill Specialty Canola Oil has signed a long-term lease to open a specialty canola research farm in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan. The research farm, about 30 miles from the company’s canola crush facility in Clavet, will support Cargill's specialized hybrid breeding and production trials, with a focus on developing high yielding agronomic traits and the next generation of output traits.

The farm offers 150 acres of high quality crop land along with an irrigation system capable of delivering a minimum of five million gallons of river water each year, vital to the nurseries and for conducting yield trials during the growing season. Planting at the research farm will begin with the current crop year, just now getting underway.

“The research farm at Aberdeen will enable Cargill to centralize its hybrid breeding program right in the commercial production region,” said Alan Willits, president of Cargill’s Specialty Canola Oils business. “It demonstrates Cargill’s commitment to serving the entire supply chain, providing high-yielding Victory canola hybrids to farmers and oils with low saturated fat and zero transfats to food costumers.”

While Aberdeen becomes the main research farm for Cargill’s canola breeding program, the company will continue to maintain its existing trial stations in Camrose, Alberta, and Elm Creek, Manitoba.

Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cargill Limited employs over 10,000 people across the country and has business interests in meat, egg and oilseed processing, animal feed, salt, chocolate, natural gas, crop inputs, as well as grain handling and merchandising.