SigMT

SiG MT 92 e story didn't begin in Montana, though; it started where there was a problem at the numerous fish farms in Chile, Norway, and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada. e salmon at the fish farms needed an additive in their food to provide the consumer with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega 3s like that which is found in wild-caught salmon. For a time fish oil was added to the feed, but that was puing stress on marine resources. Cargill Corporation and BASF Corporation, a German chemical company, jointly developed an answer to the problem by genetically engineering algae-based materials containing EPA/DHA omega 3s with canola to make a new canola oil. is new canola oil would become part of the aquaculture feed for salmon. "Providing the farm-raised salmon with this new product in their feed will take the pressure off marine resources, including the wild caught salmon industry," said Lorin Debonte, Assistant Vice President, Research and Development, Food Ingredients and Bioindustrials at Cargill. "In the future, farm-raised salmon will be rich in omega-3s at the target levels recommended for heart and brain health. It will be as nutritious as the wild-caught salmon or the farm-raised salmon that had received a diet of fish oil." Many miles away from the fish farms, Montana with its ideal growing conditions was picked by Cargill to be the first state to field test this new type of canola. Keith Horton, Senior Trial Agronomist for Cargill, has been in Great Falls for one year. "We are determining which canola hybrids grow best in the various farming regions of Montana by testing them on both irrigated and dryland farms," he said. This irrigated trial field near Fairfield consists of 20 foot plots. Each plot contains a different canola hybrid that is being tested to see how it performs in Montana conditions. Cargill's new research facility located along the Old Havre Highway just north of Great Falls. Photo: Jim Wells

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