farmers decry plan to put transmission towers in fields

The Manitoba Co-operator | November 29, 2012 17
CROPS
H U S B A N D R Y — T H E S C I E N C E , S K I L L O R A R T O F F A R M I N G
Nutraceutical firm
seeks borage growers
Feeling blue about the high cost of canola inputs? Alleviate your symptoms with borage
Borage, an oilseed used in nutraceuticals, can be grown across much of the Prairie region. PHOTO: SUBMITTED BY BIORIGINAL
By Daniel Winters
CO-OPERATOR STAFF
Borage has been prized for its
curative powers since ancient
times.
In Roman times, the naturalist
Pliny regarded it as an antidepressant,
and a famous herbalist from
the 16th century wrote that a syrup
made from borage “comforteth the
heart, purgeth melancholy, and
quieteth the phrenticke or lunaticke
person.”
For Prairie farmers who may fit
that description after last year’s disappointing
canola crop, the plant
with the pretty purplish-blue blossoms
that honeybees adore may
offer a lucrative alternative to canola
in rotations following cereals.
Shane Falk, crop production
manager of Saskatoon-based
Bioriginal Food and Science, said
that his company is looking to
expand the company’s contracted
acres for the oilseed to 10,000, up
from 5,000 acres last year.
“Instead of growing flax or canola,
it’s another alternative with
a little less costs in terms of fertilizer,”
said Falk.
“It’s not that different. You just
plant it, spray it, and combine it.”
The company, which has been
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around since the early 1990s,
extracts the gamma linoleic acid
(GLA) containing oil at its own
crushing facilities and markets it
in capsule and cream form as an
arthritis remedy.
Stockpiles of the oil have dipped
lately due to demand for the product,
and that has motivated Bioriginal
to seek out more growers.
Gross returns from the crop
range from $300 to $600 per acre,
with recent plot trials showing that
the latest cultivars are capable of
reaching further into the top end
due to better seed retention.
“With our new varieties we’ve
been seeing average yields of 150
kg per acre, with upwards of 200 kg
being grown,” he added.
“Also with the price of fertilizer
at its current values, you’re looking
at about $25 per acre savings over
canola as well with the decreased
costs.”
Seed costs are $35 per acre
shipped to the contracted grower,
with the price deducted from payment
when the crop is picked up
by the company in fall. A minimum
of 80 acres is required under the
terms, with no maximum.
Falk, who visits each contracted
field three times throughout the
growing season, said that the final
payment is based on the gamma
linoleic acid content in the seed.
This year, the company was paying
$4 per kg for seed containing less
than 20.39 per cent GLA, and $4.25
for 22 per cent or more.
“The higher the GLA, the more it
is worth to us. The majority of borage
this year has been in the middle
range but we have had a few
growers with 22-plus GLA,” he said.
“We like to offer guys a $50-ormore
premium over canola to get
guys to grow it.”
Although some contracted growers
produce the crop under organic
conditions even without being
offered a premium, Falk recommends
a pre-seed burn-down with
glyphosate, followed by a second
pass prior to emergence.
Seed should be planted at halfinch
to a full inch depth in moist
but not wet soil at a rate of seven
kg per acre. Fertilizer rates should
not exceed 50 lbs./acre for nitrogen,
and no more than 40 lbs./acre
of phosphate. Sulphur and potash
rates are similar to those for canola.
In crop, Poast can be used to
whack grassy weeds, and Assert for
broadleaf troublemakers.
Honeybees are critical for best
yield results, and at least one hive
“We like to offer guys a
$50-or-more premium
over canola to get guys
to grow it.”
SHANE FALK
per acre distributed around the
field is needed to ensure pollination
success.
Because the crop flowers for
extended periods during the growing
season, beekeepers are generally
keen to help out in exchange
for hives overflowing with highquality
honey, he said.
Borage should be swathed when
the seeds turn black and 85-90 per
cent of the plants are ashen grey in
colour. To avoid seed damage, the
crop should be harvested at 10 per
cent moisture and then dried down
via aeration.
As with any crop, next-year volunteers
may be present, but they
typically can’t compete when the
rotation returns to cereal production,
he said.
daniel.winters@fbcpublishing.com
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