Oregon senate bill seeks to make 500 acre limit on canola permanent

In Oregon, the Salem Statesman Journal reports that Senate Bill 789 is seeking to permanently limit canola growing to 500 acres in the Willamette Valley, and that growers be licensed or risk a $10,000 fine, because of the crossbreeding risk to the area’s international brassica specialty seed growing industry. A decade ago, interest began in growing canola for biodiesel feedstock, but it was limited for six years to trial the crop and identify potential problems with its expansion, which was later expanded twice until 2023.