Camelina Emerging as a Renewable Fuel Source

Since 2006. Sustainable Oils has been working with camelina in the renewable fuel space on camelina breeding with the original intent to grow crop that can be turned into aviation fuel. Mike Karst president of Sustainable Oils says not only is camelina a good cover crop, it's also a good source for renewable fuel.

“What we want to grow as grow camelina in between the major crop cycles or on land that is fallow. So in the far west, if we think about Montana is where we do a lot of our fallow production. It's a wheat-fallow rotation for many growers. We can take one of those fallow years and put camelina on there, because one, it's a very short-season crop. This year in Montana. It's the first crop coming out of the field, too. It's a really low-water-use crop. “

Forty-five thousand US acres are contracted camelina and about 42,000 are to be harvested due to weather-related losses. Carr says they are looking for additional contract growers.

“We cannot grow enough camelina to outpace the demand. “

Most genetics are being developed in Montana, and a majority of camelina has been grown in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado with Kansas and Oklahoma becoming bigger camelina-growing states. Karst says that they are pleased that the risk management agency now offers insurance available for many states that have camelina production.