Oilseed Farm-to-Market Demonstration

Oilseed Farm-to-Market Demonstration

Summary

The Oilseed Farm-to-Market Demonstration project’s objectives are to increase awareness of the benefits of oilseed crops within a rotation (agronomics); and to increase general information on the value-added opportunities in oilseed crops (economics).

Objectives/Performance Targets

The five participants had a successful second year working with the following crops for 2007: Tom Conrad (20” rainfall) seeded spring canola (#357 Pioneer canola); Mike Goyke (19” rainfall) seeded spring canola (Glyphosate Resistant canola); Ron Kile (18” rainfall) seeded mustard (GEM mustard); Mike Stubbs (15” rainfall) seeded winter canola (non-GMO) and Del and Steve Teade (19” rainfall) seeded mustard.

Soil sampling was completed to monitor the moisture usage and nitrogen levels of the crop ground and is being tracked throughout the farm rotation. Organic matter was measured in the first year and will be measured again in the final year for comparison to determine if there was a gain through use of the direct seed system.

The contract seed market price increased this past year for both brassica varieties, averaging 18 cents per pound opposed to the 15 cents of 2006. Four of the five participants chose to participate in crushing their oilseed crop to test the by-product sales market.

The oilseed expeller (crusher) was housed in Rhod McIntosh’s shop (livestock operator) for easier handling of the meal for the first two participants, Ron Conrad and Mike Stubbs. Neither producer’s seed was cleaned other than combine adjustments during harvest. It is believed that the chaff, pods, and bugs (‘trash’) bridge in the crusher’s seed auger which causes the material to burn and ‘jams’ the machine causing it to shut down due to thermal protection on the crusher motor. The heater rings on the seed augers were adjusted throughout the crushing process in an attempt to reduce the amount of heat being applied to the seed being crushed, resulting in less ‘jams’.

Ron Conrad had 13,985 lbs of canola seed to be crushed which resulted in 20 days of almost consistent 24-hour running of the crusher. This produced 4.5 tons of meal and 530 gallons of oil. The crusher was set up on a 12-hour rotation for filling the seed bin from the field truck and changing the meal bag, both were done while the crusher was still running. During Conrad’s use, the crusher was serviced with a new sensor and had three ‘jams’ due to the amount of ‘trash’ which shut the machine down for those three days. The crusher was run at a slower speed half the time in an attempt to discourage bridging. The oil was sold regionally to an operation that is making biofuel for the individual farm; the meal was sold as livestock feed additive (protein supplement) to Rhod McIntosh.

Mike Stubbs had 14,320 lbs of canola seed to be crushed which resulted in 12 days of consistent 24-hour running of the crusher. This produced 4.5 tons of meal and 550 gallons of oil. The crusher continued with the 12-hour rotation for filling the seed bin from the field truck and changing the meal bag; there were zero days for machine shut downs, and it was ran at a higher speed. The oil was sold to the same operation as Tom Conrad’s; the meal was sold as livestock feed additive (protein supplement) to a different livestock operator in the area.

The third participant with canola this year was Mike Goyke. The crusher was moved on-farm to his shop with approximately 10,000 lbs of seed crushing resulting in 9 days of in-consistent operation. The operation did not run 24-hours due to ‘trash’ shutting the crusher off. A new situation occurred when the machine would carry the seed through without producing oil or meal. This situation happened several times after the machine shut itself down which was remedied by switching the seed auger size. A screen was fitted over the seed bin to act as a ‘sifter’ to assist in the removal of the ‘trash’ and worked well but added additional time and the need for two people when refilling the seed bin from the field truck. This produced an estimated 3 ton of meal and an estimated 250 gallons of oil.

Overall the canola meal sold for $200/ton, the oil sold for $0.38/pound; and the participant’s seed contract price was $0.18/pound (summer 2007). When compared in weight, the results show as an average that the by-products sold for $0.16/pound.

There is an additional by-product referred to as ‘sludge’ which is left in the bottom of the oil barrels from when the oil has finished settling. The settling typically takes five days before it can be pumped into another container for sale. This wet, soupy meal contains the same protein and omega-3 benefits of the dry material and has been used over hay as feed supplement for livestock. At this time, no market value has been placed on the ‘sludge’.

The canola meal was submitted for a standard Feed and Forage Report revealing that as an average the meal contained 32.3% protein content and 7.4% omega-3 content. Speed variations were experimented with but yielded no substantial change in the outcome of the testing.

Ron Kile grew mustard on a flat in its last year of chemical plant-back restrictions; which produced a low yielding crop with a percentage of hollow seeds. The crusher was moved on-farm to his shop with approximately 5,000 lbs of seed. Crushing was done in 9 days of in-consistent operation. The mustard was very ‘trashy’ but also contained a lot of dust (a combine adjustment was not made during harvest due to the small amount of mustard that was harvested) which filled the oil augers causing them to ‘jam’ and shut the crusher off. It was determined after researching the situation, that it would be cost prohibitive to have the small amount of mustard seed cleaned professionally; a screen was fitted over the seed bin to act as a ‘sifter’ to assist in the removal of the ‘trash’ but did not address the dust issue. The augers, heaters, and dyes were all adjusted and changed in an attempt to remedy the dust situation. With the overnight temperatures starting to fall below freezing, the seed temperature had become an issue (last year). Along with the attachment of heating lamps to the seed bin of the crusher, an old manual seed cleaner had been located to address the dust issue. Both activities seemed to remedy the situation until the breaker switch on the crusher began to trip-out also due to the cold mornings. By adding a heat lamp over the breaker box, Ron was able to run the crusher on a 24-hour basis to finish his project. The mustard produced an estimated 1.25 ton of meal and an estimated 100 gallons of oil. The oil was successfully sold locally, but there is currently no reliable market for the meal.

The Universities are pursuing the mustard meal as a soil amendment.

Reports have been provided upon request, as well as the two information brochures that were created, and updated, for the project.

The District was invited to present at the Columbia County Conservation District’s Annual Meeting on January 18, 2007. There were approximately 50 attendees that were very interactive with suggestions, information (more local to their area), and questions regarding the by-product market and sales.

The District was invited to present an update on the Oilseed Farm-to-Market Demonstration project to the Washington Canola/Rapeseed Commission on September 5, 2007. Kimberly Morse reviewed what took place in the first year, the outcomes, where the project and participants were at and what was going to take place at the fair.

The District demonstrated at the Palouse Empire Fair in September 2007. There were five demonstrations with an estimated 100 individuals being present throughout the four days. Those present ranged from landowners interested in the crops, livestock operators interested in the meal, high school students for projects and reports, and the general public because of the buzz word biofuels.

The Whitman County Gazette is now publishing weekly the Canola Market price along with the other commodities.

The Whitman County Gazette published an article on the project in the March 22, 2007 issue.

The Districts webpage (http://whitmancd.scc.wa.gov) has the project highlighted, and the District’s newsletter, The Steward, also has provided information on the project.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The 2006 project accomplishments include:
Secured five producers as participants in the grant who direct seed with an oilseed in the rotation, located in various rainfall zones; worked with them on the rotation they use along with the equipment, seeding rates, varieties, and taking soil samples.
Purchased the oil seed expeller (crusher), the trailer and completed set-up with the crusher frame, seed bin and seed auger on the trailer for portability between farms and for outreach demonstrations.
Completed first year outreach activities to include securing cash partnerships; submitting or interviewing for newspaper articles; writing newsletter articles; completing webpage display; and demonstrations at the local fair.
Created and distributed two outreach brochures, one on the project itself and one regarding oilseed crop benefits.
Successfully completed the necessary on-farm visits to meet with participants and obtain soil samples.
Successfully crushed 2006 oilseed crops for participants.
Successfully sold by-products in 2006.
Completed financial analysis of the first year sale of the by-products.

The 2007 project accomplishments include:
Completed second year outreach activities to include interviewing for newspaper articles; answering inquiries from interested parties by phone, email, and in-person; forwarded first year report to cash match partners and the general public upon request; writing newsletter articles; completing webpage display; presented at Columbia County Conservation District Annual Meeting; provided in-person an updated report to the Washington Canola/Rapeseed Commission; and completed several demonstrations at the local fair.
Updated the two project outreach brochures, one on the project itself and one regarding oilseed crop benefits.
Successfully completed the necessary on-farm visits to meet with participants and obtain soil samples.
Successfully crushed 2007’s oilseed crops for participants.
Successfully sold by-products in 2007.
Completed meal analysis for three crushed canola varieties and one mustard variety.
Completed financial analysis of the second year sale of the by-products.
Successfully worked with the local newspaper to list the market price of canola in the weekly edition.

The project to-do list:
Complete the remaining year of the grant analyzing data collected on the soil samples, crop yields, rotation benefits, financial analysis of the sale of by-products.
Continue to assist the participants with on-farm research.
Continue to assist in the crushing and marketing of the oilseed crop.
Continue with the outreach activities.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

This demonstration project will benefit both the producer and the consumers. For producers, the project will demonstrate the positives in having an oilseed crop in their rotation such as better weed control and yield potential; less fuel is used in the direct seeding system; and it will provide a secondary market for the oilseed by-product sales, assisting economically. For the consumer, increased oilseed acres will allow for easier availability for biodiesel allowing for a cleaner fuel to be used resulting in cleaner air; and provide a local source for livestock producers wishing to use oilseed meal for feed.

Overall the canola meal sold for $200/ton, the oil sold for $0.38/pound; and the participant 2007 seed contract price was $0.18/pound. When compared in weight, the results show as an average that the by-products sold for $0.16/pound. This could still be a viable program.

There is an additional by-product referred to as ‘sludge’ which is left in the bottom of the oil barrels from when the oil has finished settling. The settling typically takes five days before it can be pumped into another container for sale. This wet, soupy meal contains the same protein and omega-3 benefits of the dry material and has been used over hay as feed supplement for livestock. At this time, no market value has been placed on the ‘sludge’.

The canola meal was submitted for a standard Feed and Forage Report revealing that as an average the meal contained 32.3% protein content and 7.4% omega-3 content. Speed variations were experimented with but yielded no substantial change in the outcome of the testing.

Collaborators: