As the world finally starts to move towards greener alternative forms of energy, the Canadian farmer is looking to place themselves at the fore front with abundant supplies of canola oil. Given Canada’s plans to increase its canola crush capacity by over 40 percent across the next three years, the recent news of large infrastructure investments should come as no surprise. Indeed, three of the largest grain companies in the country have, over the last month, announced substantial investment in existing/new plants which will be geared towards ramping up canola crushing production.

Richardson unveiled its plans in March to double the capacity of its plant in Yorkton, Sask., to 2.2 million tonnes. Cargill announced last week that it is also building a plant in Regina that will consume one million tonnes of canola seed per year. And Viterra was the latest company to issue a news release saying it intends to build the world’s largest canola crush facility in Regina, capable of processing 2.5 million tonnes of seed annually.

All of the new plants are expected to be up and running by 2024.