There are more than 6,000 miles between Great Falls, Montana, and Santiago, Chile, but the two cities are linked by a technology breakthrough that promises benefits for Chilean salmon farmers and Montana farmers alike.
Agriculture giant Cargill opened a facility in Great Falls in October 2017 that serves as the epicenter for research and development of canola oil that is genetically modified (GM) to be rich in Omega-3 oil and can be used in salmon and shrimp feed.
The GM canola oil is currently under US Department of Agriculture (USDA) review, and commercial production is still a few years away, but the concept has been proven and tested and the oil performs similarly to Omega-3 from marine fish, Willie Loh, vice president of market development for edible oils at Cargill, told me during a visit to the Great Falls facility.
