US canola production estimated at new record high

Date:11-07-2024

The US quietly put together a record canola crop in 2024 – and there may be more upside ahead. 

In its first official estimate of this year’s crop, the USDA last month pegged American canola production at 2.234 million tonnes, up 14% from the 2023 crop of 1.885 million, which was also the previous high. Much of the increase was due to a 14% increase in planted area to 2.76 million acres – with harvested area up 13% to a new record of 2.72 million - although the estimated average yield, at 36.2 bu/acre, was up almost a half bushel from a year ago as well. 

Barry Coleman, Executive Director Northern Canola Growers Association in Bismarck, ND, said he believes strong prices and demand for canola oil from the renewable diesel industry helped to bolster US canola planted area in the spring. 

According to Coleman, rotational constraints are likely to limit any further expansion of canola acres in the northeast part of the No. 1 production state of North Dakota but added that other areas still have plenty of capacity. In fact, he estimated that North Dakota canola acres could eventually top out at around 3 million to 3.5 million acres, before rotation concerns would become as issue. There is also additional expansion potential in the smaller production states as well, including Montana, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Idaho. 

Further, Coleman said the US winter canola potential – which is typically grown on the US southern Plains and in the Pacific Northwest is likely over 1 million acres. For the 2024 harvest, combined Kansas and Oklahoma canola planted area amounted to around 30,000 acres, versus just 4,500 the previous year. In Washington, state growers planted an estimated 160,000 acres to canola for harvest this year. 

Of course, US canola output still pales in comparison to this year’s nearly 19-million tonne crop in Canada – down about 1% on the year - but the larger American crop does at least help to bolster a world total especially dented by a poor rapeseed crop in the EU. 

All told, world rapeseed production for this year is estimated by the USDA at 87.44 million tonnes, a drop of about 2% from 2023-24.