Executive Summary
Reflections on the 2023-2024 Piloting of Winter Camelina:
Lessons and Implications for Further Scaling

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‍This report summarizes learnings from the 2023–2024 winter camelina production season as a critical step in accelerating regional scaling of winter camelina in the Upper Midwest. Winter camelina has been under development as a winter annual crop for the Upper Midwest by leaders at USDA ARS Morris, North Dakota StateUniversity, the University of Minnesota (UMN) Forever Green Initiative (FGI), and others for several decades. The last few years have seen an explosion of interest in winter oilseeds as “intermediate crops” for renewable fuels, feed, industrial uses, and food.

This work accelerated in the last several years under the leadership of FGI, the State of Minnesota, partners such as MBOLD, environmental NGO partners, and subsequently major cross-sector partnerships with Cargill, Upper Midwest growers, fuel and feed groups, and others. Production of winter camelina in the region expanded significantly in 2023–2024 from several hundred acres to 2,000 acres in MN and ND. Most acres were grown under contract with Cargill, which was a key driver in farmers’ willingness to adopt winter camelina. All acres relied on current publicly available germplasm, namely ‘Joelle’ variety, while FGI advances breeding efforts for winter camelina. Roughly 1,650 of those acres were brought to harvest, successfully aggregated and cleaned, and crushed at the Cargill plant in West Fargo, ND. A portion was subsequently refined into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and used in the first SAF-fueled flight out of Minneapolis Saint-Paul International Airport in late 2024. This rapid progress, from “seed to SAF,” is a testament to the potential of winter camelina for the region as well as cross-sector partners’ commitment to innovation.
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Several high-level learnings from the 2023–2024 production year are as follows:

• Like any other crop, winter camelina can be impacted by challenging weather. The 2023–2024 growing season was exceptionally difficult. A warm winter affected early growth and dormancy, followed by deluge rains in Spring.
• Average yields of 600–800 lbs/ac highlight the critical need for improved genetics.
• Innovative state support was a critical risk management strategy for growers.

Agronomically, key insights from Minnesota growers include:

• Growers who planted in late September or early October had better winter survival and corresponding yields.
• Stands that were fertilized adequately had better growth and visual appearance.
• Soybeans grown under a relay system in St. Peter experienced a yield reduction of ~10–20%, which is promising and matches the best observed results in research trials.
• Economic returns are a constraining factor for grower adoption, especially with camelina contract prices indexed to other commodities and currently depressed prices.
• The economics of camelina are complex and related to cropping system, yield, price, effect on the following crop, and public support. Previous related estimates are that growers could add $20–40 net revenue per acre in a relay-cropping system with soy.
• Encouragingly, many 2023–2024 pilot growers are voting with their feet and choosing to renew and expand winter camelina production acres in 2024–2025.
• At the time of this report’s release, already at least twice as much winter camelina is seeded across the region as the year prior. Forever Green, MBOLD, and a growing list of partners remain committed to improving and scaling winter camelina as a promising “cash cover crop” for the region.