By RAY WYCHE
Staff writer

The broad fields of Harry Hart’s expansive farm off Green Swamp Road south of Bolton are freshly plowed, their black soil ready for seed planting equipment.

Except for one seven-acre plot that glows bright yellow in contrast to the dark earth surrounding it.

The yellow field is canola, being grown by Hart and his two sons, John and Sonny, on a trial basis. The small grain is extensively produced in the upper midwestern states and Canada in the summer months, but the Harts think that Columbus County climate and soils are well suited for the crop, grown mostly for its oil.

The relatively mild winters of Columbus County (compared to winters in North Dakota, where much canola is cultivated) allow the grain plant to flourish here in the months when local fields usually are fallow. With winter canola, the land can be double-cropped, with another grain planting following the canola harvest.

The seven acres now nearing maturity off Miracle Acres Lane closely resemble a patch of mustard or broccoli gone to seed. Reaching upward from a cluster of broccoli-like leaves growing close to the ground, a slender stalk grows to a height of about one foot. The top few inches of this stalk bear seed pods that look like those of a soybean plant but are somewhat smaller.

When nearing maturity, bright yellow blossoms open at the tops of the stalks, turning the field into an expanse of gold.

Harry Hart says he’s growing canola as an experiment and thus far, he’s satisfied with what his land has produced. The seven-acre tract has three varieties of canola; the Harts are seeking the variety that produces best in their fields.

“We’re going to find out which one is best,” John Hart says. If none of the three meet the Harts’ expectations, “then we’re going to buy three more varieties,” he adds.

Canola’s value—and one of the reasons the Harts have invested in a trial crop—is its potential as a viable alternative to diesel fuel now made mostly from imported petroleum.

Canola has the promise of being an outstanding biodiesel fuel; diesel engines can operate on canola oil treated with a few additives without engine or fuel system modifications. Biodiesel burns cleaner, keeps engines in good shape, and is less toxic than petroleum-produced diesel fuel.

Energy wise, biodiesel is good business. For each unit of energy required to produce biodiesel, 3.24 units or energy are gained, according to Blue Ridge Biofuels, an organization encouraging wider use of fuels made from biomass.

“Diesel fuel feeds this nation,” Harry Hart says, as most farm machinery today uses diesel fuels. “This is the perfect crop for biodiesel,” he adds.

Canola plants produce twice as much oil per acre as soybeans.

The first efficient diesel engine, perfected by Rudolph Diesel of Germany in 1897, was fueled with peanut oil.

Columbus County soils and climate are well suited for canola production. The plant can be grown during the winter months by planting in late fall and harvesting in late spring, allowing time to follow a canola crop with late corn or soybeans.

“I may even plant it in corn,” Hart says of his canola fields, since the crop will be harvested in time to plant another crop on the land.

Fertilizer requirements for canola are similar to those for other small grains (“It takes a little more nitrogen,” Hart says), and insect pests thus far have not been a problem in Hart’s fields.

“I haven’t seen an insect on any of it,” he says.

The small canola can be harvested with a soybean head on a regular combine, but the window of time for gathering the crop is crucial. Harvest the pods too early and heating and spoilage of the too-green seed may occur; harvesting when the pods are too far along in the ripening process will result in shattered pods and a loss of seed.

The biggest problem with canola production in this area, Hart says, is the absence of a processing facility that can press the oil from the seed.

“What we need is a seed processor,” he says. “We’re going to have to demonstrate that this crop will work here. Obviously, it’s a viable crop here, and when we find a processor, it’s here to stay.

The nearest processing plant at present is in Georgia.

“I’m going to have to pick my seed and keep them,” Hart says of his current crop.

Hart says a portable processing facility, machinery mounted on a truck, is an attractive possibility where the crop is grown on scattered farms.

“There’s all kinds of grants – millions of dollars in grants – out there but you can’t use it to purchase a piece of iron (Hart’s term for a processing plant),” he says.

Canola has a value beyond that of the oil that comes from its seed. After the oil is pressed from the grain, the grain can be ground into a meal that, when mixed with soybean meal, makes an excellent animal feed.