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Another crop ID


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Anyone know what crop i'm talking about? it's meant to be another version of whale oil.

i think it's called camalina or something like that, can't find it on wikipedia, probably because it's not spelt like that! :)

If anyone can help it would be nice.

 

turk101

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Don't think so baldrick. If you google it you will see Camelina sativa produces camelina oil when pressed.

Wikipedia has it as a healthy oil with high omega 3 fatty acids and high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids etc.

 

Sounds like it could be a crop that might have taken off like OSR if more people had grown it. Probably harder to grow with a less than reliable output.

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Badshot, I've not just heard of or seen Camelina sativa being grown for commercial purposes, in Essex or Norfolk. My only experience of Camelina is as part of a simple game-cover, mix, blended with quinoa and mustard. I am intrigued though, and will ask our agronomy boys more about it next week. I read up on it this morning, and it appears that unlike rapeseed oil, camelina oil isn't suitable for frying. However it is being grown in the USA for biodiesel, so perhaps it will migrate across here as a commercial crop in time. I would have thought that anyone who grows borage (with all its associated timing and machinery worries) might consider camelina an easier alternative.

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Baldrick

I t will be interesting to know what they say, i have no experience of it at all only whats on the web. Borage however locally had a bit of a run a few years back but as far as i know only the local beekeepers got anything out of it. Just seems to me that niche crops are grown by those who are willing to put the time into them and can afford the risk of failure. My agronomist was advising on some millet last year i believe, for me though i'll stick to wheat, rape, wheat spring beans on my very heavy ground.

Badshot

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We grew about 120ac of borage last summer on a contract, on some of the lighter land. It is an absolute bore though, despite the good price achieved. Anxiety about the timing of the seeds cracking before it's swathed, 10 days of further stress while it dries after swathing, and then farting about with pick-up headers right in the middle of August when we need the combines elsewhere. And the volunteer borage is hard to eradicate. We don't have any in the 2009 cropping plan.

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Thanks guys, I think it is camelina as Baldrick says, i remember now the farmer telling me that it is used for game cover!

thanks again guys!

 

Oh and the reason i asked apart from getting educated is that the pigeons are on it in reasonable amount's! :good:

only problem is he has abround 5-6 fair size fields, and the are fairly akward to shoot, houses, roads etc:

So guess i need to check out the flight lines and suitable shoot postions!

 

turk101

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