At their meeting of 30th April the Rotary Club of Anstruther & District heard from club member Ian Brunton, who farms in the area. Ian has over the years provided humorous education with his series of ‘A year in the life of …’ This latest instalment turned out to be a year in the life of an oilseed rape plant!

Not perhaps the most instantly memorable headline  – but in reality fascinating and related with great élan.

An economically important crop that annually produces 60 million tonnes of seed around the world, it is the basis of vegetable oil, margarine, cosmetics, animal feed, lubricating oils and biodiesel. Rapeseed oil is high in Omega 3 and low in saturated fat. Ian quoted the statistic that 1 hectare of land will produce 1,600 kg of oil – enough to travel 26,800 km by car using biodiesel – and that 600,000 hectares of rape are now under cultivation.

We learned that the name derives from the Latin ‘rapum’ meaning ‘turnip’ and it is a plant that has been cultivated for perhaps 4,000 years. It was recorded in 1740 by the Swedish scientist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus and many varieties exist with exotic names – ‘camelot’ ‘hornet’ ‘pamela’ ‘rhino’ ‘lioness’ to name a few.

But it was the lifecycle on the farm that was most revealing. Taking a year from sowing to harvesting it is a crop that requires specialist attention in most months. For those amateur gardeners in the audience who sow seeds and hope for the best, the oilseed rape plant lives a life that is scientifically regulated to the extreme

Following questions a vote of thanks was proposed by Colin Campbell.