A NEW variety and a $95 per tonne premium is making Monola a more attractive canola to grow this season.
Monola is a specialty oil canola developed by Nuseed and the latest offer, Monola 416TT, is an early to early-mid maturing open-pollinated variety with good early vigour.
It compares favourably with other triazine tolerant (TT) varieties Stingray and Bonito.
The oil is in strong demand from food companies due to its health and cooking benefits.
Monola canola oil is lower in saturated fats and is more stable during lengthy cooking at high temperatures.
Nuseed WA regional sales manager Andrew Suverijn said while the adoption of Monola by WA growers had been slow, the improved growing characteristics and yield of the new variety and the $95/t premium were making it a more attractive proposition for growers.
"There are no agronomic differences between growing Monola 416TT and other TT varieties and the new Monola 416TT variety delivers comparable yields to Stingray and Bonito, making it a good option for those wanting a high yielding TT canola," Mr Suverijn said.
For those wanting to grow Monola and capitalise on the $95/t premium, there is a catch - seed can only be taken to GrainCorp's oilseed plant at Pinjarra, which Mr Suverijn said means growing Monola would be worthwhile for growers in "a couple of hundred kilometre" radius of the site.
KFC Australia is one of the biggest purchasers of Monola canola oil, switching from using palm oil for cooking to the high oleic Monola oil in May 2012 in its 630 restaurants across Australia.
A KFC Australia spokeswoman said the company had been a key influence in the development of the high oleic canola and increasing crop size due to the company's need for large volumes each year and to fulfil its commitment to purchase local supplies.
Monola is one of two seed varieties KFC Australia is working with to meet its demand for high oleic canola oil.
"Our absolute preference is to support locally-produced high oleic canola oil and we work extensively with our suppliers to contract grow volumes to meet our demand," the spokeswoman said.
"High oleic canola oil is our preferred oil for cooking our menu items due to its stability and our ability to source this specialty oil locally in Australia.
"The move in May 2012 to 100 per cent high oleic canola oil from sustainably sourced palm oil was seen as a positive move by our customers, which we are extremely proud of."
One grower who has given Monola a go this year is Alex Linto.
The 15-year-old from York leased the land and developed the plans and budgets for his Monola 416TT crop as part of a major project that he hopes will set him up for success next year at the WA College of Agriculture, Cunderdin.
On accepting Alex's application to the school, the teachers encouraged him to continue developing his farming skills and experience and record it along the way, so he arranged to lease some land and set up his own crop.
It was a natural progression for Alex, who has been helping his father Rob with agricultural contracting work for years.
"He's always been into farming - he loves it," Rob said.
"Alex can already do most things as well as me, if not better."
Monola 416TT was chosen for his first crop because of its strong yields, superior returns compared with canola and its ability to help clean up the paddock through the triazine spray.
"We heard about this new seed and it sounded good, especially the $95/t premium, so we decided to trial it on 20 hectares," Alex said.
Alex's crop went in on April 1 and like so many crops in the area, it is well advanced for the time of year.
"It's just down the road from home so I can check it out as often as I like," he said.
"The crop is looking really good, with lots of pods coming out and it's up to my shoulders, so about 150 centimetres."
Rob said while Monola didn't grow as big and thick as some other canola crops he's grown in the past, it quickly grew tall enough to block daylight and suppress weeds.
Alex said he may have to spray for aphids soon, which will involve contracting a plane to get across the crop.
He is also watching for sclerotinia.
Alex believes it is on track to achieve yields of up to 2.5 t/ha ? and he's got good reason to watch that yield prediction carefully.
"We reckon if Alex gets it to 2.5 t/ha or beyond, he can take the family to Bali," Rob said.
"In all seriousness, we reckon it's got enough nutrition under it to get to 2.5 t/ha, but it will depend on how the rest of the season goes."
As well as starter fertiliser, the crop received 100 kilograms/ha of sulphate of ammonia and 100kg/ha of urea.
Nuseed northern WA area sales manager Hugh Trenorden said the crop was looking great.
"Alex has done a great job with our Monola 416TT and if it continues to do well, he'll have a bumper crop," he said.
Mr Trenorden said uptake of Monola by WA growers was stronger than ever this year.
He said when they combined all the data from last year's National Variety Trials and Nuseed's trials, Monola 416TT produced a gross income of $145/ha higher than ATR Stingray.
"Given the potential for good yields and the guaranteed $95/t premium payment above the market price for canola, a lot of growers were keen to try Monola for the first time this season," he said.
"Although it is grown the same way as canola, Monola can offer so much more in terms of healthy profits for growers and a healthier oil for consumers."
