WARDEN - Pacific Coast Canola has been granted a license to process NexeraTM canola and produce and sell Omega-9 Quality Canola Oil at its Warden plant.

Nexera canola is the feedstock used to produce Omega-9 Quality Canola Oil, which was developed by Dow AgroSciences to address the needs of the food industry and the health needs of North American consumers, according to a statement released by Pacific Coast Canola.

Omega-9 Oils feature zero trans-fats and a long shelf life, and their nutritional advantages have already resulted in the removal of more than 1.5 billion pounds of trans and saturated fats from the North American diet, the statement said.

Pacific Coast Canola entered into an agreement with Dow AgroSciences Canada in April under which the processing facility is able to purchase, handle, crush and process Nexera canola as well as process and sell the Omega-9 Oil produced from the canola.

Dow AgroSciences will provide Nexera seed to canola growers under contract with PCC to deliver canola feedstock to the Warden facility for processing. In addition, Dow AgroSciences will work jointly with PCC to develop programs for the marketing of Nexera canola seed to growers, and to develop programs that will market Omega-9 Quality Canola Oil to potential buyers, it said.

Producing Omega-9 Quality Oil from the Nexera canola at the Warden plant will satisfy a growing demand for the product, said Legumex Walker President and Chief Executive Officer Joel Horn.

Legumex Walker owns 84 percent of Pacific Coast Canola.

"PCC's strategy is to expand its margin potential beyond the benefit of sourcing feedstock locally by focusing on new canola products such as Omega-9 Oils, which command premiums in the marketplace," he said in a statement.

PCC officials said growers in the region will also benefit from the agreement.

"Partnering with Dow AgroSciences allows us to bring the benefits of Nexera canola to growers in the Pacific Northwest," said Matt Upmeyer, chief operations officer for PCC. "Growing commodity canola has great agronomic benefits and growing NexeraTM canola takes that to another level, providing greater potential profitability through higher yields and pricing premiums."