Georgia company betting on canola for SC

A Georgia company is helping South Carolina grain farmers make the most of crop rotation.

AgStrong LLC of Bowersville, Ga., located just over the Georgia state line, is well along in efforts to provide a sustainable winter crop for grain growers in northeast Georgia and throughout South Carolina, according to Southeast Farm Press.

Canola is likely to produce about 80 percent of a wheat crop, according to the publication. However, canola is likely to be 70-80 percent more valuable than wheat – in most years, said Robert Davis, co-owner and president of AgStrong.

At the end of the day, the grower should net $100-$150 more per acre with canola, according to Southeast Farm Press.

“We have had growers ask us about growing more canola, which would require a shorter rotation, and we say no. To be sustainable, growers must grow canola the right way and everything we know about growing the crop indicates in the Southeast a three-year rotation is a must,” Davis said.

Canola, developed through conventional plant breeding from rapeseed, was once considered a specialty crop in Canada, but is now a major American cash crop. Canada and the United States produce between 7 and 10 million tons of canola seed per year.