Camelina acreage drops by half in Montana as ‘08 wheat price boom retards growth of biodiesel feedstock

In Montana, dGlobe.com reported that acres devoted to camelina in Montana, the home of many trials of the oilseed, dropped to less than half of the high of 22,500 acres planted in 2007. Oilseed developers and marketers Sustainable Oils and Great Plains said that high wheat prices had prevented conversion of land to camelina in 2008, and low biodiesel prices may provide a disincentive for 2009.

Sustainable Oils said that it had pushed back plans for an expansion to 100 Mgy in biodiesel production to 2011, at least, while Great Plains has postponed plans to install a $20 million oilseed crushing facility and is focusing on completing feasibility planning. Camelina was approved for federal crop insurance in 2008, and the oilseed is awaiting USDA approval for selling crushed seeds to livestock feed markets.

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