Camelina
Information

Biodiesel Basics

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New Camelina Varieties

Camelina is an annual plant with prolific small, pale- yellow flowers with four petals, attains heights of 1 to 3 feet and has branched stems that become woody at maturity. Leaves are arrow-shaped, sharp-pointed and about 3 inches long with smooth edges. Seed pods are the size and shape of a small pea. The seeds are very small, amounting to about 400,000 seeds per pound, and they are 40 percent oil, compared to 20 percent with soybeans.

Camelina Information

Camelina sativa is a member of the mustard family, a distant relative to canola, and the new darling of biodiesel production. Camelina plants are heavily branched, growing from one to three feet tall producing seed pods containing many small, oily seeds. It’s proof that good things really do come in small packages.

Camelina spreads workload and reduces risk.
It is a short-seasoned, fast-growing crop that can help spread your workload. Camelina is planted in March and harvested in late July most years, even in Northern climates.

Get something instead of nothing.
If every drop of moisture is precious, you may want to consider camelina. It can produce seeds with less moisture so you’re assured of something to harvest. Plus, by maturing earlier than most other crop options, it’s not as dependent on rain later in the summer when Mother Nature’s more fickle. And since camelina can be harvested early, it allows ground to absorb later-season rainfall so it can enter the new year in a better position.

Some call it low input.
Camelina can be low input – it can survive on little water, and it takes less fertilizer than many other crops. But it still requires management.

Sustainable Oils is working with crop protection companies to give growers more herbicide options.  Poast®, a post emergent grass control product, is labeled for the 2009 growing season. Even with the availability of Poast farmers should apply glyphosate in the fall and perhaps even again before the camelina emerges to ensure the crop gets off to a good start. Camelina competes well against weeds once a crop is established, but it isn’t a miracle crop. Manage it right and it works. Learn more by viewing our production protocols.

Seed should be drilled, then harvested using conventional farm equipment, although you may want to add a smaller screen to your sieve to keep the seeds clean.

Camelina has high oil and protein content.
Camelina typically contains 35-38% oil, which is high in omega-3 fatty acid. This makes the oil fit for biodiesel and the meal a good option for livestock feed.

The emerging green fuel industry is turning camelina into a lucrative new cash crop for farmers. The seeds are easily crushed with oil being used for biodiesel that performs similar to biodiesel from other sources but can be more efficient.

The remaining meal is a protein-rich feed source for cattle or swine. Sustainable Oils is currently one of only two companies with approval to sell the meal. However, the company is leading an industry coalition that is working to get meal approved for all animal uses.

An annual that originated in Northern Europe, camelina has many names: gold-of-pleasure, false flax, wild flax, German sesame. One of our favorites is Siberian oilseed; it’s such a hardy, cold-tolerant plant it seems to deserve that name. But whatever you call it, we think it spells a new profit opportunity for farmers in the Northwestern US and Canada. Learn more about opportunities for growers.