Canola Added To Arkansas Enterprise Crop Budgets For 2027

MARY HIGHTOWER

JONESBORO, ARKANSAS

 With harvest of summer’s crops underway, some farmers are planning for fall-planted canola, and they now have a financial tool to help them make decisions about the crop.

“With growers seeing little to no relief this year from high input costs, and with margins for the major row crops remaining compressed, growers are considering every alternative,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

Just-released enterprise budgets from the Cooperative Extension Service now include canola and wheat, both fall-planted and harvested in the middle of the following year. It enables farmers to grow two crops in consecutive seasons, called double cropping.

The enterprise budgets are comprised of downloadable Excel spreadsheets. They are created by Breana Watkins, extension conservation and crop budget economist for UADA, and Stiles.

“Farmers can plug in specific land lease structures as well as customized crop input quantities and prices to get a handle on the profitability of a particular crop and production method,” he said.

Canola is in the same family as turnips and mustard. It can grow up to 6 feet and produces a flush of bright yellow flowers. The plants produce needle-like pods with small black seeds that are crushed for oil. Canola oil is commonly used for cooking, with a neutral flavor and relatively high smoke point, meaning it can be cooked at higher temperatures without producing smoke.

In 2025, over 2.3 million acres of the crop were harvested, mostly in the northern plains, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. North Dakota was the largest grower with 1.8 million acres harvested. Other major producing states are Montana, Washington, Idaho and Minnesota. Neighboring Oklahoma harvested 11,000 acres in 2025.

“Canola is a small acreage crop for Arkansas, but is seeing rapid growth,” Stiles said.

“Arkansas saw about 1,800 acres of canola harvested in 2026,” he said. “Industry sources indicate that 2027 acreage will more than double. A key driver behind the expansion is the canola program offered through a partnership among Bunge, Chevron and Corteva.”

Canola is marketed primarily through closed-loop buyback contracts, rather than the standard open-market elevator cash bidding conducted for other crops such as rice and soybeans, Stiles said.

“Bids are tied to the Intercontinental Exchange Canola futures contract, adjusted for local Mid-South basis,” he said. “Currently, Mid-South participants in the Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables program are being offered a 2027 contract price of $13.25 per bushel.” 

For anyone considering canola, “there are agronomic and operational realities that must be evaluated,” Stiles said. “In terms of marketing, wheat will likely provide more flexibility and convenience in delivery. Canola requires a closed-loop commitment and much less flexibility in finding a local elevator willing to accept the grain.”

Wheat

Wheat is also looking attractive. USDA's preliminary average farm price for 2026/27 wheat is currently estimated at $6.40 per bushel, up significantly from the previous year's $5.06 per bushel.

The July 2027 wheat futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange currently trade near $7.43 per bushel and at the highest levels since mid-2023. Flat price bids for June delivery at river terminals are generally 10 to 20 cents under July 2027 futures.

“The uptick in grain prices is a welcome sight for wheat producers and should lead to an increase in acres this fall,” said Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for UADA.

“In the fall of 2025, only 90,000 acres were planted, the smallest wheat planting in recent history, primarily driven by low grain prices and an overall lack of profit potential for wheat,” he said. “Today, wheat prices have rebounded to their highest level since mid-2023.”

Find the extension fact sheet “Canola Production in Arkansas” online. Find wheat-related fact sheets on the extension publications website.   ∆

MARY HIGHTOWER

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS