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For growers

Where can I grow canola (rapeseed)?

Brassica napus · Oilseed · Annual

Canola (rapeseed) is a great fit (80+) on 96.9 million km² (37.4 million sq mi) of land in 185 countries, 44% of it only with irrigation. The most well-suited land is in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Xinjiang, China and Texas, United States. Where it can't grow, it's usually growing season too hot (56%) and growing season too cool (36%).

Crop fit≤5075100Uncolored land: won't grow

Tap the map for the score at any spot. Each square is a 28 km (17 mile) grid cell.

Great fit (80+)
96.9M km²(37.4M sq mi)
67% of land
Worth a try (50–79)
19.9M km²(7.7M sq mi)
14% of land
Great fit without irrigation
51.9M km²(20.0M sq mi)
Rain alone is enough
Countries
185
With great-fit land

Regions with the most suitable land

  1. 1

    🇧🇷Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Great fit on 562k km² (217k sq mi) · worth a try on 2,200 km² (900 sq mi)

    For example Belo Horizonte (100), Contagem (100)

  2. 2

    🇨🇳Xinjiang, China

    Great fit on 528k km² (204k sq mi) · worth a try on 15k km² (5,600 sq mi) · mostly with irrigation

    For example Ürümqi (100), Korla (100)

  3. 3

    🇺🇸Texas, United States

    Great fit on 520k km² (201k sq mi)

    For example Houston (100), San Antonio (100)

  4. 4

    🇨🇳Heilongjiang, China

    Great fit on 415k km² (160k sq mi)

    For example Harbin (100), Daqing (100)

  5. 5

    🇧🇷Bahia, Brazil

    Great fit on 412k km² (159k sq mi) · worth a try on 135k km² (52k sq mi)

    For example Vitória da Conquista (100), Campo Formoso (100)

  6. 6

    🇨🇳Inner Mongolia, China

    Great fit on 398k km² (154k sq mi)

    For example Ordos (100), Dongsheng (100)

  7. 7

    🇺🇸California, United States

    Great fit on 340k km² (131k sq mi)

    For example Los Angeles (100), San Jose (100)

  8. 8

    🇮🇳Madhya Pradesh, India

    Great fit on 316k km² (122k sq mi) · mostly with irrigation

    For example Chāndāmeta (100), Parāsia (100)

  9. 9

    🇮🇳Rajasthan, India

    Great fit on 311k km² (120k sq mi) · mostly with irrigation

    For example Ābu (100), Pratāpgarh (100)

  10. 10

    🇦🇷Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Great fit on 305k km² (118k sq mi)

    For example Mar del Plata (100), Avellaneda (100)

  11. 11

    🇧🇷Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Great fit on 291k km² (112k sq mi)

    For example Porto Alegre (100), Caxias do Sul (100)

  12. 12

    🇨🇦Ontario, Canada

    Great fit on 281k km² (108k sq mi)

    For example Toronto (100), Ottawa (100)

  13. 13

    🇪🇹Oromiya, Ethiopia

    Great fit on 267k km² (103k sq mi) · worth a try on 23k km² (8,900 sq mi)

    For example Nazrēt (100), Jimma (100)

  14. 14

    🇵🇰Balochistan, Pakistan

    Great fit on 260k km² (101k sq mi) · mostly with irrigation

    For example Quetta (100), Khuzdar (100)

  15. 15

    🇮🇳Uttar Pradesh, India

    Great fit on 237k km² (92k sq mi) · mostly with irrigation

    For example Behat (100), Deoband (100)

Regions are states and provinces, counting land within 75 km of a town. At most three per country, so the list covers the world.

By country

  • 🇺🇸United States5.5M km² (2.1M sq mi) · 100% of its land
  • 🇨🇳China5.3M km² (2.0M sq mi) · 94% of its land
  • 🇷🇺Russia4.8M km² (1.9M sq mi) · 97% of its land
  • 🇧🇷Brazil2.8M km² (1.1M sq mi) · 46% of its land
  • 🇮🇳India2.4M km² (908k sq mi) · 73% of its land
  • 🇦🇷Argentina1.5M km² (591k sq mi) · 97% of its land
  • 🇮🇷Iran1.4M km² (540k sq mi) · 100% of its land
  • 🇲🇽Mexico1.3M km² (499k sq mi) · 80% of its land
  • 🇨🇦Canada1.2M km² (451k sq mi) · 99% of its land
  • 🇰🇿Kazakhstan869k km² (335k sq mi) · 98% of its land

Best-suited towns

  1. 100%fit

    Jacksonville

    🇺🇸 Florida, United States

  2. 100%fit

    Milan

    🇮🇹 Lombardy, Italy

  3. 100%fit

    Shantou

    🇨🇳 Guangdong, China

  4. 100%fit

    Pohang

    🇰🇷 Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea

  5. 100%fit

    Houston

    🇺🇸 Texas, United States

  6. 100%fit

    Turin

    🇮🇹 Piedmont, Italy

  7. 100%fit

    Detroit

    🇺🇸 Michigan, United States

  8. 100%fit

    Dazhou

    🇨🇳 Sichuan, China

  9. 100%fit

    Wuzhou

    🇨🇳 Guangxi, China

  10. 100%fit

    Chaozhou

    🇨🇳 Guangdong, China

  11. 100%fit

    Putian

    🇨🇳 Fujian, China

  12. 100%fit

    Wanxian

    🇨🇳 Chongqing, China

The most comfortable fits among the 2,000 biggest towns, two per region.

What canola (rapeseed) needs

Growing-season average
Ideal 54–70°F (12–21°C)Won't grow below 43°F (6°C) or above 81°F (27°C)
Coldest growing-season night (monthly average)
Ideal at least 32°F (0°C)Won't grow below 23°F (-5°C)
Growing-season rain
Ideal 9.8–22 in (250–550 mm)Won't grow below 5.9 in (150 mm) or above 35 in (900 mm)

Heat over ~30 °C at flowering cuts yield; a cool-season crop in warm climates.

Sources: FAO ECOCROP: Brassica napus; Canola Council of Canada: Canola Encyclopedia. Ranges not yet reviewed by an agronomist.

What stops it elsewhere

  • Growing season too hot56%
  • Growing season too cool36%
  • Too wet in the growing season6%
  • Nights too cold in the growing season2%

Share of the land scoring under 50, by what holds it back most.

How this map works

Every 28 km square of land is scored 0–100 against the requirements above, using 1991–2020 monthly climate averages with frost, chill and heat estimated by simulating daily weather. Each square is scored with whichever variety fits it best. “With irrigation” ignores rain shortfalls; “Rain-fed only” counts them.

Climate is only part of it: soil, slope, water and markets decide where a crop is actually farmed. Use this to shortlist places, then check them locally.

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