Oil Baron

by David Lindsay, Jan./Feb. ’09 issue of Rural Delivery magazine

The oilseed pumpkin research project conducted at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College over the past two years came about partly because of advocacy on the part of Peter Fuchs. Since he moved from Germany to set up shop in Nova Scotia in 2003, Fuchs has done everything in his power to get more certified organic oilseed crops grown in the province, to provide feedstock for his cold-pressed oil company, Foxmill Ltd.

Located in Indian Harbour, N.S., on the road to Peggy’s Cove, the modest plant is the only facility of this kind in the Atlantic provinces. The apparatus seems simple, consisting of a couple portable hoppers, conveyors, and the pressing machine that extracts oil from seeds. But this is specialized gear that had to be brought from Germany, and considerable expertise is involved in making the modifications and adjustments necessary to produce various high-quality oils. Trained as an engineer, Fuchs has worked in the biofuel industry, and his knowledge of chemistry is readily translated to nutritional matters.

Talking to this burly man with the spectacular mustache, it’s easy to see how he has sparked local interest in cold-pressed oils. Fuchs is enthusiastic and persuasive, though at times dismayed that not everyone shares his vision of an oilseed boom in the region.

Making it happen will require adherence to standards, he says. He shows off a custom-made, portable moisture meter he uses when purchasing seeds. He likes to see a reading of eight percent, maximum, “because moisture contains oxygen, and every oilseed product is oxygen sensitive.”

At over nine percent moisture, the seeds are susceptible to fungus or rancidity during storage. In the plant he dries them down to less than seven percent before they go into the press.

The press itself has to be operated slowly to avoid heating the oil and destroying nutrients. “It depends what kind of quality you want,” Fuchs says. “The higher the omega-3 in the product, the lower the temperature has to be.”

Canola and sunflower seeds have to be pressed at less than 35 degrees Celsius to preserve their omega-3 content. Flax and pumpkin seeds have to be kept below 30 degrees.

It’s not just a function of motor speed, Fuchs says, pointing out the stainless steel auger that can be replaced with one that will provide a more aggressive or less aggressive pressing action.

“If the customer wants higher quantity and lower quality, I can do it. I don’t like to, but I could.”

Greater pressure will extract more oil, but also a higher proportion of sulfur, which is undesirable for food-grade oil. If Fuchs ends up with some seeds that are spoilt or otherwise unsuitable for human consumption, he can press them hard and get the maximum yield of low-quality oil, which he uses to fuel his diesel vehicles and the 30-kilowatt generator that provides electricity and heat for the plant.

Dust or sand in the seed, however, is a major liability, because the friction damages high-precision components in the press.

The meal, or expeller, is conveyed to an adjacent room and bagged for use as animal feed. Some of the canola meal goes to an organic milk producer, and another organic farmer has been feeding flax meal to raise pork with an omega-3 boost. Fuchs is always delighted when these links in the local food chain come together, and he believes there’s huge potential for the chain to grow stronger through increased adoption of oilseed crops.

Fuchs says while it might not be known as a breadbasket, this region has a reputation in Europe for producing pristine food, because the Maritime provinces are isolated from major sources of pollution and contamination by genetically modified crops. That’s part of the reason he sees so much promise in pumpkins.
“The value for that kind of pumpkin seeds is close to twice what it was last year,” he says, rhyming off the reputed merits of this product for prostate health, improved bladder and kidney function, and as a source of Vitamin E.

Even the expeller, he adds, is too good to feed to livestock. “We produce pumpkinseed butter from it. It tastes wonderful, and it’s a nice protein for vegetarians.”

Fuchs is ready. He has ideas aplenty, and he is confident that with his offshore contacts he could tap into markets that would jump-start the local oilseed sector. But he needs more partnerships, more commitments. He needs others who share his audacious, organic, oil-based optimism.

“We have a good opportunity,” he says. “The point is, I can help the farm guys, and they can help me. I would like to see the thousands of acres of unused farm land back in operation. It is really important to hold up agriculture in Nova Scotia.”

 

OACC gratefully acknowledges the author and Rural Delivery for permission to post this article.

Posted May 2009