THIS MULTI-STATE, INTERDISCIPLINARY, AND INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT WILL DELIVER PRACTICAL OUTCOMES TO MAKE WINTER CANOLA AN AGRONOMICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE ROTATION CROP. THE LONG-TERM EXPECTED OUTCOMES ARE TO INCREASE ACRES AND PRODUCTION IN THE GREAT PLAINS. TO STIMULATE GROWTH, THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON TWO AREAS: 1) TESTING AND BREEDING TO DEVELOP SUPERIOR PERFORMING CULTIVARS AND HYBRIDS THAT INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY, AND ADAPTATION TO AN EXPANDED RANGE OF GROWING ENVIRONMENTS, AND 2) CONDUCTING APPLIED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE PLANTING AND MANAGEMENT METHODS FOR USE IN THE REGION. NEW CULTIVARS WILL POSSESS ENHANCED WINTER SURVIVAL, GREATER YIELD POTENTIAL, HIGHER OIL CONTENT, DISEASE TOLERANCE, AND HERBICIDE RESISTANCE. TO BUILD UPON PREVIOUS ESTABLISHMENT RESEARCH, WINTER CANOLA SOURCE-SINK RELATIONSHIPS CONTROLLING YIELD FORMATION WILL BE REVIEWED AND INTERPRETED. A SPATIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF OIL CONTENT VARIABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS AND U.S. WILL BE CREATED. ENVIRONMENTS WILL BE APPRAISED FOR THEIR SUITABILITY FOR SUCCESSFUL CANOLA PRODUCTION. IMPROVED SEEDING RATES, PLANTING DATES, AND CROP GROWTH REGULATOR USE WILL BOOST PRODUCTION. CROP INPUT OPTIMIZATION WILL BE OBSERVED THROUGH OMISSION OF CRITICAL INPUTS. THE RESILIENCY OF CANOLA TO RECOVER FROM SUBSTANTIAL STAND LOSSES WILL BE EVALUATED. CLIENTELE WILL RECEIVE INFORMATION DELIVERED IN-PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA FIELD DAYS, SCHOOLS, EXTENSION AND JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS, PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS, RADIO AND TELEVISION INTERVIEWS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA. SUCCESS WILL BE MEASURED BY AN INCREASE OF WINTER CANOLA PLANTED ACRES, THE RELEASE OF NEW CULTIVARS, IMPROVED CONSISTENCY OF PRODUCTION USING RESEARCH-BASED PRACTICES, AND PARTICIPATION AND FEEDBACK FROM EXTENSION ACTIVITIES.