What is All That Yellow?

by Sarah Watts, former Extension Agriculture Technician, Currituck County, North Carolina

If roses are red and violets are blue, then what is all that yellow blooming in the fields? That beautiful carpet of yellow is a crop known as rapeseed, though many of you may be familiar with this crop under its other name of canola.

RAPESEED IN LOWER CURRITUCK.

Courtesy of Currituck County Cooperative Extension Service

Rapeseed is a winter commodity crop, among others like wheat and rye, that acts as a cover crop. Cover crops are planted in the fall and provide soil improvement benefits in preparation for spring cash crops, reduce weed pressure during the winter, and increase plant area biomass for beneficial insects. Cover crops also reduce soil erosion from rain and wind and help sustain soil microbial life through a period when other crops are not sustainable. In addition to the ecological benefits, farmers enjoy an added source of income ready for harvest in early spring.

Rapeseed has more uses than simply the canola oil that you purchase in the grocery store, although that is by far its largest use. Besides its uses in the oilseed industry, the portion of the seed left after the oil is extracted, called canola meal, is used in livestock and poultry feed due to its high protein content. The rapeseed plant itself is also used as an annual forage for livestock. In addition to being consumed, the oil can also serve as a highgrade lubricant and fuel additive in the rapidly expanding biodiesel fuel industry.

For more information on crops grown in Currituck County, contact Adam Formella at the Currituck County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension: ajformel@ncsu.edu.