Coleambally irrigation farmer Ken Brain has been attracting premiums over and above average by growing manola as an alternative oilseed to canola, an indication of what could be a rise in popularity for the oilseed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The only Monola farmer local to the Riverina, the specialiaty oil canola has been attracting a premium of $100 a tonne above the price of canola while achieving similar yields, a very promising result for growers.
According to monola developer Nuseed, the oilseed shares similar agronomic traits as canola modified through selective breeding, which yields a cooking oil low in saturated fat.
After growing canola for 20 years, Mr Brain first started the transition across to the new oilseed by growing monola and canola side by side in two paddocks, both of which yielded the same.
"We grew a little more next year and the following year I grew all monola and no canola," Mr Brain said.
This gambit paid off, and for the past two years, Mr Brain has been paid a premium of $100 a tonne over the canola price.
And for this season, Mr Brain hopes to replicate his best yield so far of 2.8 tonnes a hectare from last years season by planting 220 hectares of a new 420TT variety and trialing ten hectares of the newly released 422TT ahead of commercial release next year.
"It looks magnificent at the moment," Mr Brain said.
READ MORE
According to Nuseed Specialist Oil Operations Manager Eleanor Lee, where canola fails manola will rise to the occasion with the added advantage of being well suited for use at high temperatures in the fast food service industry, restaurants, hospitals which are dominated by highly saturated oils and fats such as palm and tallow oil.
"While canola has become a market leader in margarines and bottled oils, its oil has insufficient oxidative stability for applications including frying," Mrs Lee said.
A number of Australian fast food outlets have become customers of manola oil in recent years, with demand only growing in domestic and international markets.
And according to GrainCorp, which has partnered with Nuseed for several years with its Monola program, Key Account Manager Jack Keeping, there was plenty more good news to come for manola farmers like Ken Brain.
"This year growers are likely to achieve an excellent gross margin with Monola," Mr Keeping said.
Those considering planting the crop, are contracted with either GrainCorp or MSM Milling to grow and deliver it to them at the end of the season.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.areanews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News