02/19/08 High grain prices make camelina a tough sell

Farm and Ranch February 19, 2008 Great Plains Oil & Exploration, the Camelina Company is actively contracting for camelina production in the Pacific Northwest for use in biodiesel. At a recent ag show Richard Cooley, Director of Operations -Northwestern U.S. acknowledged getting farmers to try something new in this period of record high wheat prices is not easy. But then maybe it is a time a producer can afford to experiment too. Cooley says camelina costs half as much to grow as canola and you still get rotational benefits. Cooley: "We know that brassicas will increase wheat yields the subsequent year by 10 to 20% and that is phenomenol. Rather than looking at wheat as a monoculture this development of this spring crop will lend itself to improving wheat yields in the future as well as, we think, that camelina is a viable crop. It will produce a commercial crop that is profitable to growers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho." Cooley says the contract price depends on the acreage offered. Cooley: "For 320 or less acres we are offering $6.50 a bushel. For 320 or more acres we are offering $7 a bushel. And if there were growers that were interested in larger acres than that, like over one thousand acres, we would consider an $8 a bushel price." For more information on contracting camelina you can call 1-877-922-6645 or visit www.CamelinaCompany.com I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.