Thad
08-25-2011, 06:09 PM
By TIM HEARDEN ([email protected])
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The USDA Farm Service Agency's top California official says he's hopeful camelina can grow in the state even though it's largely unproven here.
The government is offering to sign up farmers in 17 counties to grow the oilseed as part of a Biomass Crop Assistance Program
https://www.capitalpress.com/newsletter/TH-biomass-project-w-infobox-082611
Camelina needs little water or nitrogen to flourish, it can be grown on marginal agricultural lands (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marginal_agricultural_land&action=edit&redlink=1) and does not compete with food crops (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_crop). It may be used as a rotation crop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation_crop) for wheat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat), to increase the health of the soil.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference">[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-0)</sup>
It has been traditionally cultivated as an oilseed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilseed) crop to produce vegetable oil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable_oil) and animal feed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_feed). There is ample archeological evidence to show it has been grown in Europe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) for at least 3,000 years. The earliest findsites include the Neolithic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic) levels at Auvernier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auvernier), Switzerland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland) (dated to the second millennium BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_millennium_BC)), the Chalcolithic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcolithic) level at Pefkakia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pefkakia&action=edit&redlink=1) in Greece (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece) (dated to the third millennium BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_millennium_BC)), and Sucidava-Celei (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sucidava-Celei&action=edit&redlink=1), Romania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania) (circa 2200 BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2200s_BC)).<sup id="cite_ref-Zohary.26Hopf_1-0" class="reference">[2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-Zohary.26Hopf-1)</sup> During the Bronze age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_age) and Iron age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_age) it was an important agricultural crop in northern Greece beyond the current range of the olive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive). <sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">[3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-2)</sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference">[4] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-3)</sup> It apparently continued to be grown at the time of the Roman Empire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire), although its Greek and Latin names are not known.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference">[5] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-4)</sup> According to Zohary and Hopf, until the 1940s C. sativa was an important oil crop in eastern and central Europe, and currently has continued to be cultivated in a few parts of Europe for its seed which was used,<sup id="cite_ref-Zohary.26Hopf_1-1" class="reference">[2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-Zohary.26Hopf-1)</sup> for example, in oil lamps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_lamps) (until the modern harnessing of natural gas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas) and propane (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane) and electricity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity)) and as an edible oil.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The USDA Farm Service Agency's top California official says he's hopeful camelina can grow in the state even though it's largely unproven here.
The government is offering to sign up farmers in 17 counties to grow the oilseed as part of a Biomass Crop Assistance Program
https://www.capitalpress.com/newsletter/TH-biomass-project-w-infobox-082611
Camelina needs little water or nitrogen to flourish, it can be grown on marginal agricultural lands (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marginal_agricultural_land&action=edit&redlink=1) and does not compete with food crops (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_crop). It may be used as a rotation crop (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation_crop) for wheat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat), to increase the health of the soil.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference">[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-0)</sup>
It has been traditionally cultivated as an oilseed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilseed) crop to produce vegetable oil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable_oil) and animal feed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_feed). There is ample archeological evidence to show it has been grown in Europe (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) for at least 3,000 years. The earliest findsites include the Neolithic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic) levels at Auvernier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auvernier), Switzerland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland) (dated to the second millennium BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_millennium_BC)), the Chalcolithic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcolithic) level at Pefkakia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pefkakia&action=edit&redlink=1) in Greece (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece) (dated to the third millennium BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_millennium_BC)), and Sucidava-Celei (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sucidava-Celei&action=edit&redlink=1), Romania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania) (circa 2200 BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2200s_BC)).<sup id="cite_ref-Zohary.26Hopf_1-0" class="reference">[2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-Zohary.26Hopf-1)</sup> During the Bronze age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_age) and Iron age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_age) it was an important agricultural crop in northern Greece beyond the current range of the olive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive). <sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">[3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-2)</sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference">[4] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-3)</sup> It apparently continued to be grown at the time of the Roman Empire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire), although its Greek and Latin names are not known.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference">[5] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-4)</sup> According to Zohary and Hopf, until the 1940s C. sativa was an important oil crop in eastern and central Europe, and currently has continued to be cultivated in a few parts of Europe for its seed which was used,<sup id="cite_ref-Zohary.26Hopf_1-1" class="reference">[2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa#cite_note-Zohary.26Hopf-1)</sup> for example, in oil lamps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_lamps) (until the modern harnessing of natural gas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas) and propane (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane) and electricity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity)) and as an edible oil.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelina_sativa