(as opposed to the irresistible photo op.)
In the farming world canola is considered a winter crop, reaching full bloom in early spring. Canola seeds are used to make margarine and cooking oil, and Australia sits in the top five producers in the world. The unusual yellow paddocks can be found growing in regions that have slightly wetter or cooler climates, including throughout north eastern Victoria.
Canola is a crop with plants from three to five feet tall that produce pods from which seeds are harvested and crushed to create canola oil.
Canola seeds contain about 45 percent oil. This large percentage of oil comes in a small package; canola seeds are similar in size to poppy seeds, though brownish-black in colour.
Although they look similar, canola and rapeseed plants and oils are very different. Canadian scientists used traditional plant breeding in the 1960s to remove an undesirable component of rapeseed — erucic acid — to create “canola,” a contraction of “Canadian”, “oil”, “low acid”. Canola oil is prized for its heart-healthy properties with the least saturated fat of all common cooking oils.
Canola belongs to the Brassica plant family as does cabbage, kale, bok-choy, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, turnip, mustard and some others.
