DAS (Digital Agriculture Services) has released new analysis showing Australian growers planted just under 92,000 hectares of canola into last year's canola stubble in 2026, a record area and dramatic expansion of this controversial practice.
The report, Canola on Canola: The 2026 Season, found repeat canola accounted for 2.1% of the national canola crop in 2026, surpassing the previous peak of 1.9% recorded in 2022. The 2026 repeat canola area was 7% higher than in 2022, despite the national canola crop being around 260,000 hectares smaller.
In the report, DAS analyses repeat canola across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia using DAS Grain Intelligence, which records crop type for every Australian paddock since 2018.
DAS found the distribution of repeat canola has changed since the previous peak in 2022. While the practice was widespread across all four states in 2022, it is now more concentrated, with Western Australia accounting for 78% of Australia's repeat canola area. The ten shires where the practice is most common now account for 56% of the national total, compared with one-third in 2022.
Western Australia's Esperance shire recorded the largest repeat canola area nationally, with 24,700 hectares, representing 8.5% of its canola program. Ravensthorpe and Jerramungup also recorded substantial increases, with 58% of Western Australia's repeat canola area located across these three south coast shires.
The analysis is significant given the GRDC's Blackleg Management Guide advises to “NEVER sow your canola crop into last year’s canola stubble” because it increases blackleg risk, can contribute to significant yield loss and can shorten the effective life of resistant cultivars and fungicides.
Earth Observations Lead at DAS, Sam Atkinson, said the report also provides new insight into how repeat canola is occurring at paddock scale.
"By analysing paddock geometry, we can distinguish different drivers of repeat canola planting rather than treating every occurrence as the same."
"We identified 692 separate repeat canola areas across the four states in 2026. Of those, 415 were paddock rotations being aligned into larger blocks, while 69 blocks larger than 300 hectares accounted for 50% of the national repeat canola area."
DAS classifies repeat canola into three forms: rotation alignment as paddocks are merged into larger blocks, standalone repeats and block-scale repeats. Standalone repeats increased to around 13,000 hectares in 2026, while block-scale repeats accounted for half of the 2026 area and were the fastest growing of the three forms.
About DAS
DAS is a technology company that delivers location intelligence for financial services, government and enterprises, with a unified system of data, insights, software and CRM integrations. Its Rural Intelligence Platform™ serves more than 140 clients — including Rabobank, IAG, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Nutrien, Cargill and Bunge — integrating intelligence on climate, productivity, sustainability, risk and carbon to help them lend, insure, invest and sell better.