Camelina Cover Crop Contender

Camelina Cover Crop Contender CROPS New Techniques University of Minnesota professor Don Wyse has been working for years on the commercialization of camelina     For the past 5 years North Dakota farmer Joe Breker has been using camelina as a cover crop on his fields in the southeastern part of the state     The two men share an interest in finding a crop that will protect the soil while producing extra income for farmers Camelina is getting close     “We’ve been working with 15 cover crops and perennial crops to add more economic opportunity for producers ” says Wyse describing his Forever Green initiative “Two are oilseeds - pennycress and camelina The first one to commercialization will be camelina ”     Camelina has been investigated in the past as an alternative oil source Vol 31 No 4 and Vol 37 No 4 Wyse sees it as an income producing crop following spring peas and other crops It can absorb and store up to 70 lbs of nitrogen per acre left behind by previous crops It over winters well and can be harvested in mid to late June 2 weeks or so after planting soybeans into it The only problem is that competition between the maturing camelina and the emerging soybeans reduces yields some on both crops     “We have late maturity camelina that reduces soybean yield about 5 percent The camelina still yields from 1 500 to 2 000 lbs per acre ” says Wyse “Right now that is a wash when you consider inputs and cultural costs We are working to reduce soybean yield loss to zero and increase camelina yields through breeding early maturing varieties ”     Some growers may not have to wait for those goals to be met Thanks to a grant from the Walton Foundation work on a supply chain is spurring commercialization Several large agricultural corporations are investing in camelina as part of their commitments to carbon reduction and regenerative agriculture     “They are stepping up and helping us develop the supply chain to get camelina into food products ” says Wyse “Forever Green is not just about developing crops but also the industry to support and use them ”     Joe Breker isn’t waiting Along with fellow no-till and cover crop producer Doug Toussaint he is producing camelina seed for cover crop use A conversation the two had with North Dakota researchers identified the need for a winter hardy cover crop     “They had 500 lbs of camelina seed and asked us to try to raise it evaluate it and produce seed ” says Breker “Doug drilled some into barley stubble and I had mine flown on mixed with rye on some soybean and fava bean stubble ”     Both ended up with similar yields and replanted in the fall of 2018 Breker planted it in soybean stubble in twin-row 30-in rows in October too late for it to emerge that fall However it came up well in the spring Around the 20th of May he planted twin rows of soybeans as a relay crop in between the rows of camelina     “We harvested the camelina in mid-July ” says Breker “The soybeans were about a foot high but the header had to be at about 8 in to catch the camelina ”     To keep from damaging the beans Breker put pieces of drain tile over the header bar to push the soybeans below the cutterbar     “We added pickup fingers to the header to help straighten up the camelina ” says Breker “The combination worked quite well ”     He estimates the camelina yielded about a third less than if it hadn’t been relay cropped and the soybeans about 25 percent less     Breker has also tried interseeding camelina in maturing soybeans and corn but it hasn’t survived the heavy canopies Once the soybeans have started turning yellow broadcasting camelina is an option     He plans to continue trying options with the camelina in hopes of a market like Wyse envisions “We need a viable option for raising 2 crops and harvesting the second as a relay crop ” says Breker     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Don Wyse 411 Borlaug Hall 1991 Upper Buford Circle; St Paul Minn 55108 ph 612 625-7064; wysex001@umn edu; www forevergreen umn edu ; or Joe Breker 13989 98th St SE Havana N Dak 58043 ph 701 680-0379; nohojoe@hotmail com

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