Source: USDA
Source: USDA

Canola production in the USA is booming due to increasing demand from the domestic biofuel sector, according to a report by Germany’s Union for Germany’s Union for the Promotion of Plants and Protein (UFOP).

Dynamic growth in the US biofuel market was making canola cultivation increasingly attractive for farmers in northern USA, the 26 September report said.

“Canadian counterparts are also benefiting as the USA is a major market for both canola meal and oil,” UFOP said.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the canola planted area in the USA exceeded 1M ha for the first time in the 2024/25 season. This represented a 13% increase from the previous year.

If yields remained consistent with the previous season, the USDA expected a record harvest of just over 2.1M tonnes, which would position the USA as a globally significant producer of canola and rapeseed.

All key canola-producing states in the USA have expanded their cultivation areas, with North Dakota accounting for 830,000ha, according to the report.

Montana and Washington planted around 80,000ha, while Idaho and Minnesota planted around 38,000ha.

It was notable that canola-producing areas in North Dakota, Montana and Washington had all risen to record highs, the report said.

According to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft, the growth of canola production in the USA is driven by dynamic demand for meal as feed for dairy production and for canola oil as a key feedstock for biofuel production.

In particular, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) at the national level and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in California, where more than 50% of transport fuels are now bio-based, had led to brisk demand and attractive prices for producers, the report said.

Despite the increase in canola output, US production could not keep pace with demand, UFOP said.

As a result, US imports of canola meal and oil – primarily from Canada – continued to increase steadily.