Quality of western Canadian canola, 2009

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Free fatty acids content

The 2009 harvest survey of Canola, No. 1 Canada has a mean free fatty acid (FFA) content of 0.15%. This level is significantly higher than the 2008 value of 0.10% and lower than the long-term mean of 0.23%. However, the FFA levels may be elevated in seed that was subjected to wet harvesting conditions (October snow fall) or improper storage, particularly in the northern regions of the canola growing area. Individual producer samples from some areas are higher in FFA (e.g. 0.6% to 0.8%) than the reported western Canada mean of 0.15% for Canola, No. 1 Canada.

For initial 2009–10 exports, FFA levels are expected to be around 0.3% for Canola, No. 1 Canada. The FFA levels towards the end of the shipping season will likely be higher than the values seen in October shipments because FFA levels tend to increase over time.

Free fatty acids content of 2009 harvest survey samples, by grade and province

	Number of samples	Free fatty acids (%)
1 Includes part of the Peace River area that is in British Columbia
2 Values are weighted averages based on production by province as estimated by Statistics Canada.
Canola, No. 1 Canada
MB	378	0.14
SK	569	0.09
AB1	408	0.17
Western Canada2	1355	0.13
Canola, No. 2 Canada
MB	13	0.33
SK	11	0.14
AB1	69	0.25
Western Canada2	93	0.21
Canola, No. 3 Canada
Western Canada2	18	0.2
Canola, Sample Canada
Western Canada2	18	0.3

Free fatty acid content of harvest survey samples, 1990–2009 - Canola, No. 1 Canada

Crop year	Free fatty acid %
1990	0.40
1991	0.30
1992	0.30
1993	0.30
1994	0.28
1995	0.20
1996	0.21
1997	0.30
1998	0.23
1999	0.23
2000	0.24
2001	0.35
2002	0.35
2003	0.23
2004	0.19
2005	0.11
2006	0.17
2007	0.18
2008	0.10
2009	0.15

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