The Winnipeg Commoidty Exchange provides the world's only futures market for Canola. In a futures market, buyers and sellers meet to determine the prices for standardized contracts. These contracts require delivery of a product, such as Canola, at speicfied location during a month in the future. The Winnipeg Commodity Exchange also disseminates Canola future prices throughout the world to provide a unifor and highly visible marketplace. Futures prices are used a s a benchmarket to determine cash prices at any given location in western Canada, or anywhere in the world.

The buyers and sellers of physical canola use the futures market as a mechanism to minimize price risk. A farmer might sell futures contracts to protect against declines in price until the crop is sold in the cash market. A Japanese oilseed crusher might purchase future contracts to lock in a certian price until the crop is purchased for import.

Canola plants grow anywhere from 3 ft to 6 ft tall since growing conditions greatly affect the height and qulaity of the crop. Each plant produces groups of yellow four petalled flowers which produce small grennd pods. Ath the plant ripens the poids turn brown. When harvested each pod its carcked open to yield about 20 seeds . The seeds are then stored for future procuessin or processed immidiatley.

During processing, seeds are crushed to extract the oil and to make meal. Each seed contains approximately 40 per cent oil. In addition to its edible uses, canola oil is used in a number of inedible appication such as cosmetics and printing incks. Canola meal is used as a feed for livestock and as a fertilizer.