Biodiesel New Zealand reports bigger canola harvests

Biodiesel New Zealand, the largest biodiesel company in New Zealand, reported that the Canterbury farmers who supply them with canola are experiencing yields 50% higher than this year’s average. The company’s subsidiary, Solid Energy, contracts some 60 farmers around the country but most of the plantations can be found in Canterbury, where several thousand hectares are planted with canola or rapeseed oil which is used to produce biodiesel. Biodiesel NZ makes around 2.5 million liters of biodiesel annually from canola and recycled cooking oil at its facility in Christchurch. The company’s General Manager, Andrew Simcock, said that around 40 Canterbury growers have been harvesting four to five tons per hectare, up from the normal national average of less than three tons. (February 3, 2012)