Cargill completes canola seed innovation facility in Colorado

Cargill, Inc. said Thursday that it has completed a new 45,700-square-foot seed innovation facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, that will be the center of Cargill’s specialty canola hybrid development.

Cargill invested $10 million to build the research and development facility, where the company will select the next generation of VICTORY seed varieties.

VICTORY canola hybrids have been market leaders in Canada over the last 10 years and are grown and harvested in Canada and the U.S. before being crushed and refined to become Clear Valley high oleic canola oils.

“The Fort Collins facility is the starting point for our high oleic canola supply chain and arguably the most strategic piece to the puzzle,” Cargill Specialty Seeds and Oils President Jenny Verner said. “Seed development is a forward-looking process because the seed genetics we select today will produce crops that will be harvested about 10 years from now.”

Cargill develops specialty canola to meet needs for high-yielding, profitable crops. They also develop oils that meet consumer demand for healthy, affordable food.

Highlights of the Fort Collins facility include 9,400 square feet of laboratory space; a 4,000-square-foot basement for seed storage; 16,500 square feet of office space for meeting and conference rooms and a training facility; and energy-efficient LED lighting, a recycling center and water-saving fixtures.

Cargill focuses on developing seeds for disease-resistant and high-yielding crops and improving the oil profile of high oleic canola.

Cargill is the only high oleic canola oil company that is a seed company and the only high oleic seed company that is an oil company. Beginning this year, the company will map all aspects of its North American high oleic canola supply chain through its "Knowing Your Roots: from farm to table" program.