Canola farmers in Montana will soon vote whether to establish a checkoff program to pay for state-specific research and increase marketing.

The Montana Canola Advisory Committee oversees the effort. The committee funds research, marketing and education. The committee would approve funding for research projects.

If approved, the checkoff would be 10 cents per hundredweight, equal to 5 cents per bushel.

“It’s really all about the producer, trying to get all of us a little more research money that’s going to come more for our area,” said Sunburst, Mont., farmer Nate Aschim, a member of the advisory committee board.

Much research has been done for canola farming in Canada and North Dakota, Aschim noted.

He raises about 1,000 acres of canola in rotation with malt barley, changing up weed control and breaking soils.

The proposed rate is consistent with checkoff rates in Idaho and Washington, which have been in place for more than 20 years.

Montana farmers raised 204,000 acres of canola in 2024, compared to 97,000 acres in Idaho and 160,000 acres in Washington. North Dakota planted the most, with 2.14 million acres. North Dakota also has a checkoff, at a smaller rate.

At USDA’s average yield of 1,300 pounds per acre, or 26 bushels per acre, assessments would total $265,200, according to the Pacific Northwest Canola Growers Association, which supports checkoff efforts.

The canola growers association is a separate entity funded by voluntary memberships, with the ability to lobby politically.  It represents canola farmers in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana.

Average cost of a variety trial at one location with 25 entries is $10,000, according to the association.

Projects must be for research and marketing that address spring and winter canola production in Montana.

Idaho and Washington research trials are often “cross-border” projects, with researchers in both states collaborating and providing more locations for trials, canola growers association executive director Karen Sowers said. There could be further potential for collaboration with Montana, she said.

“Grower-driven ideas for projects that will help solve production challenges, concerns, or

priorities will be critical to a successful program,” the canola growers association said in a document of frequently-asked questions.

The assessment would be voluntary, the association stated. A grower could request a refund.

The Montana Department of Agriculture will mail out ballots in early June.

The checkoff was first proposed four years ago, and narrowly missed passing, Aschim and Sowers said.

“I think we have a good chance,” Aschim said. “The hardest part is just, it takes a little money out of a farmer’s pocket. We just have to show them the benefits.”