So, why Camelina?

About twenty years ago, the founders of Smart Earth Camelina Corp became enamoured with an ancient but little cultivated oilseed called Camelina. Originating in the Eastern Mediterranean and found all the way across the Eurasian steps and up to Siberia, Camelina found its way onto the tables of civilizations from the Ancient Romans and Egyptians to Viking settlements. In recent times Camelina had fallen out of fashion as other oilseed crops such as Soybean, Flax, Rapeseed and later Canola offered growers better yields, superior agronomic traits and large established markets. But Camelina, also known as Gold of Pleasure, Wild Flax, Siberian Oilseed among others, had a few surprises in store….

It turns out that Camelina is perfectly suited for low-input production in dryland regions – a perfect recipe for today’s climate change challenges. Even better, Camelina is a high yielding source of renewable, plant-based nutritionally important Omega fatty acids, delivered in a high antioxidant background. Maybe those ancient cultures knew a thing or two!

Smart Earth founders embraced the opportunity to develop a new oilseed for large scale production. Naturally well adapted for Western Canada and the Northern Tier States (and similar geographies worldwide), the challenge was to apply world-class breeding and modern oilseed production expertise to the ancient grain. Its no accident that company headquarters are located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the birthplace of Canola and the epicenter of oilseed breeding. Starting back in 2005 Smart Earth started its ambitious breeding program. In a relatively short time, the company reported an impressive series of firsts, producing several new Camelina varieties delivering attributes that modern producers were looking for:

We evaluate thousands of potential new varieties of camelina every year in our nursery, looking for that needle in the haystack - the one new variety that will deliver the improved performance traits we are looking for.

In a relatively short time, the company reported an impressive series of firsts, producing several new Camelina varieties delivering attributes that modern producers were looking for:

The first and only variety (non-GMO) resistant to group 2 herbicides. This will open millions of potential acres that could not be planted due to herbicide residue, improve yields by reducing weed competition and present growers with an agronomic package that delivers confidence including in-stand weed control.
Large seed size – a 40% increase over other varieties without any loss of oil yield. This increases emergence, improves combinability, and makes crushing more efficient.
Disease resistance to Downey Mildew. This is a significant problem for previous varieties particularly during periods of high moisture.

Camelina provides excellent quality meal and oil for animal feed and aquaculture. Our camelina oil supplement for canine and equine use has thousands of 5-star reviews. Owners love how the anti-inflammatory benefits of camelina help their animals skin, joint and overall health.

But there is one more interesting twist to the Camelina story. Some types of Camelina, owing to their Siberian origins, need to be planted in the fall and overwinter first before starting to grow again at the first signs of spring. This makes winter camelina a great cover crop and hence the perfect candidate for low carbon renewable fuel!

We invite you to checkout our website to learn more about our team, our growers, and this fascinating new/ancient crop.