WARF, Cargill sign agreement for patented canola breeding technology

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cargill have entered into a license agreement for patented canola breeding technology.

The technology involves the use of traditional breeding techniques to introgress traits from winter canola lines into spring canola lines, resulting in higher spring yields. Introgression is the movement of a gene from one species into the gene pool of another.

Spring canola varieties grown mainly in Canada and the northern United States are typically lower yielding than winter type canola varieties adapted to survive the more moderate winters in Europe.

“WARF’s patented technology provides a method for transferring many of the high-yielding components of winter canola into the growth habit of a spring line,” says Paul Pucci, WARF licensing associate. “The results are higher-yielding spring canola hybrids adapted to the spring canola production areas of North America. For Cargill, it means the opportunity to further enhance the industry leading yields of its specialty oil VICTORY hybrids to the benefit of North American canola growers and to continue to supply the increasing market for Cargill’s Clear Valley high stability canola oil — a valuable benefit to farmers and throughout the entire supply chain.”

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. WARF is the private, nonprofit patent and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

“Licensing this technology from WARF supports Cargill’s commitment to development and innovation in the canola industry,” says Jenny Verner, president of Cargill Specialty Canola Oils. “Cargill is dedicated to serving the entire canola supply chain, providing high-yielding, specialty oil VICTORY hybrids to farmers that ultimately result in Clear Valley canola oil with zero grams trans fat per serving and low levels of saturated fat for our customers and the consumers they serve.”