The first oilseed rape crop grown for processing in New Zealand in a decade has been harvested, heralding a new era for the food-to-fuel brassica.

At least two companies involved with pilot-scale areas this year are ramping-up production to thousands of hectares for 2008-09 and report keen grower interest.

‘For autumn sowing we were initially looking for 5000ha but we have agreed to go up to 7000ha because of the grower response,’ says Paul Quinn, Solid Energy subsidiary Biodiesel New Zealand.

The company held grower meetings in Canterbury and Southland last week and Quinn says contracts will be posted to those who have made a verbal commitment to grow the crop.

The price will vary depending on location but will be in the $600-$650/tonne range with growers offered a range of cultivars from a list of 12 for autumn sowing.

‘We want to get them trialled in all areas,’ says Quinn. ‘There will be a couple tried and tested like Lioness as controls, whose potential yield we know; we will put the other varieties around them.’

Trials with the Foundation of Arable Research (FAR) on cultivar selection and agronomy will also be ongoing, he says.

FAR is also working with Christchurch-based Eco-Oils which has a handful of pilot crops in the South Island, including one at Makikihi, South Canterbury.

‘It’s looking really good,’ says grower Colin Hurst. The trials in his crop include an assessment of windrow versus direct harvesting.

‘The birds seem to be attacking the windrows rather than the standing crop. We had thought it would be the other way around,’ he says.

Fellow Eco-Oils grower Jeremy Talbot, near Temuka, also says birds hammered his windrowed crop which was harvested a week ago.

‘The birds got most of it but it’s been an interesting trial and we have learnt some valuable lessons…we’ll be back next year with 30-40ha of the stuff.’

Brooks says Eco-Oils will pay $800/t and cold-press the seed to produce a premium food oil similar in quality to olive oil.

‘We have pressing capacity for up to 2000ha. If we get close to that I’ll be pretty happy.’

Eco-Oils’ approach is slightly different to Biodiesel New Zealand’s in that it wants to work with experienced, established cropping farmers with good infrastructure, he says.

‘We’re not going for new growers or areas.’

Hurst says $800/t with a yield of 4t/ha is the minimum needed to make the crop competitive with alternatives such as wheat at $400 per tonne or grass-seed contracts such as turf ryegrass at $2.90/kg.

‘The cereals [prices] are going to drive everything.’

Both companies say they will be listing crops on the seed identification website to avoid cross-pollination problems with other brassicas, while Biodiesel New Zealand will not be contracting growers between the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers.

‘We have gone to great lengths to work in with the seed industry,’ says Quinn.