Flax (Oilseed)
Linum usitatissimum
Cool-season annual oilseed and historic fiber crop in the family Linaceae; modern oilseed varieties are bred for seed yield and oil content rather than the long bast fibers of dual-purpose or fiber-specific flax. Adapted to short, cool growing seasons in roughly USDA hardiness zones 3-7, with most North American production concentrated in the northern Great Plains and the Canadian prairies. Sown in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked and seedbeds are firm; the crop matures in 85-110 days depending on cultivar, with harvest in mid- to late-summer as the bolls turn brown and seed moisture drops to roughly 9-11%. Seed contains ~40% oil with one of the highest alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, omega-3) fractions of any commodity oilseed (~55% of total fatty acids). Markets include industrial linseed oil (paints, linoleum, putties), edible flax oil and food-grade whole or milled seed (a fast-growing segment driven by omega-3 nutrition marketing), and animal feed. Fiber co-products from oilseed varieties are limited but specialty fiber markets exist for dual-purpose cultivars.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Optimal growing temperature is 60-70F during vegetative growth and 70-80F during seed fill; the crop is intolerant of heat stress at flowering and prefers regions with reliably cool early-summer temperatures. Seedlings are sensitive to crusting and emergence is improved on firm, fine seedbeds with shallow planting (0.5-1.5 inch). Flax is poorly competitive with weeds during early establishment; pre-plant tillage, narrow row spacing (6-8 inches), and registered herbicides are typically required to manage broadleaf and grass pressure. Major diseases include pasmo (Septoria linicola), fusarium wilt, and aster yellows phytoplasma (vectored by aster leafhoppers); rotations of at least 4 years between flax crops are recommended for pasmo suppression. Major insect pests include cutworms, grasshoppers, and aster leafhopper. Yield potential is roughly 15-30 bu/acre at 56 lb/bu under typical dryland production, with irrigated and high-management systems exceeding 35 bu/acre. Harvest can be direct-combined when the crop matures evenly or windrowed first if weeds or uneven maturity are present; the tough fibrous stems require sharp cutterbars and reel-equipped headers, and some growers fit straw choppers or burn residue because oilseed-flax straw decomposes slowly. Storage is straightforward at <10% seed moisture in clean, dry bins; oxidation of the high-ALA oil makes whole seed more stable than milled seed for long storage.
Growing Season
- Plant
- early spring – late spring
- Harvest
- mid-summer – late summer
- Frost-free days
- 90+
- GDD (base 50°F)
- 1,400 – 1,700
Yield
- Typical yield
- 22 bu/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
- Labor
- 6 hrs/acre
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
No buyer on record for this crop in the catalog's buyer network.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "declining".
Supply Below Demand
No buyer network on record — cannot establish that regional demand absorbs additional supply.
Multiple Buyer Channels
0 recorded buyers and 4 documented market channels. Multiple routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
4 documented market channels, including value-added and direct-to-consumer routes.
Market Growth Projected
Mature grain market; growth over a 5-year horizon expected to track population rather than outpace it.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 3-7; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop needs 1400 GDD (base 50F); region accumulates 2500+. Sufficient.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop needs ~16 in; region receives ~38 in/yr. Compatible, irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop needs 90 frost-free days; region provides ~180. Sufficient.
Chill Hours Met
Not applicable — annual crop has no winter chill requirement.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 5 hardiness zones (3-7). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
8 documented equipment requirements. Within range adaptable from general row-crop or orchard equipment.
Storage Available
3 documented storage/handling requirements, all achievable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Requires ~16 in. Deliverable with conventional drip or overhead irrigation.
Field Layout Suitable
grain crops need large contiguous acreage to be economic; the region's parcels are typically small and fragmented by topography.
Labor Availability
6 labor hr/ac vs catalog 75th percentile 250 hr/ac. Manageable with typical farm labor.
Processing Proximity
No processing or cooperative buyer on record for this crop; product would need to travel or be sold fresh.
Equipment Requirements
planting
Flax needs a firm, moist seedbed and shallow placement (0.75-1.5 in). Press-drill packer wheels firm the soil after planting for uniform, rapid emergence.
cultivation
Where the drill does not firm the seedbed, a soil packer behind the drill or harrowing before planting is used to firm the seedbed and aid emergence through a potential crust.
spraying
Flax is a poor weed competitor; soil-applied and early post-emergence grass herbicides applied to small weeds are needed to protect yield.
harvesting
When flax is swathed and later pickup-combined, a tall stubble is desired and swath rollers settle the swaths into the stubble to reduce wind damage and aid pickup.
Green flax stems are the hardest of all grains to cut, so sharp, well-adjusted cutter bars are essential; some combines use rollers ahead of the cylinder to fracture bolls, with careful settings to protect the easily damaged seed coat.
Combines should be equipped with straw choppers and spreaders to redistribute flax straw evenly; burning residue is no longer recommended.
post_harvest
Flax stores safely at 10% moisture short term and 8% long term; it has a low angle of repose and flows through small holes, so bins must be tight and monitored. Remove green weed-seed dockage before storage.
general
A tractor of appropriate size powers tillage, seeding, spraying and harvest-support operations; a shared fixed cost across the cropping enterprise.
Storage Requirements
Grain bin (on-farm)
Temperature
?–40°F
Max Storage
180 days
Long-term dry storage
Temperature
?–40°F
Max Storage
365 days
Commercial elevator silo
Max Storage
365 days
Finance Fit
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $250.99/ac vs catalog median $5,500/ac. Below median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Input cost $228.69/ac vs catalog 75th percentile $5,387/ac. Within typical range.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 0 years. Acceptable payback.
Insurance Available
Federal crop insurance or an equivalent risk product is available.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Net return per labor hour $3.72 ($22.3/ac over 6 hr/ac) vs catalog median $13.16. Below median.
Grants/Subsidies
No specialty-crop or cover-crop incentive program identified for this grain crop.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $13/$/bu |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $251 |
| Annual Operating Cost | $139/acre |
| Establishment Cost | $0/acre |
| Total Input Cost | $229/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $22 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Available |
| Subsidies | ARC-CO, PLC |
Source: NDSU Extension EC1657 'Projected 2026 Crop Budgets: North West North Dakota' (Feb 2026): yield 19 bu/ac, projected price $13.21/bu, direct cost $139.06/ac, total cost $228.69/ac, return to labor & mgmt $22.30/ac. Corroborated by EC1652 South West ND (20 bu/ac, $13.30/bu, return $44.20/ac). Marketing-year avg (USDA NASS Crop Values 2024 Summary): US flaxseed $17.50/bu 2022 -> $12.10 2023 -> $12.40 2024; spot $11.90/bu Mar 2026 (NASS Agricultural Prices Apr 2026) -- declining. Flaxseed is a Northern Plains oilseed not commercially grown in the Lake Erie region; ND dryland budget used as best-available proxy. Flaxseed is an ARC/PLC covered commodity (USDA FSA). (2026)
Risk Fit
Manageable Pest/Disease
11 documented risk factors. Within the range manageable by conventional IPM.
Market Diversified
0 buyers, 4 channels. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
0 years to full production at $0/ac establishment cost. Low establishment exposure.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 3-7 (5 zones). Moderate tolerance; sensitive to years at the edge of its range.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a grain revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
disease
Soilborne Fusarium wilt historically made flax a "risky" crop; it remains a threat where susceptible varieties are grown or flax is planted too frequently in rotation.
Fungal rust that historically caused significant losses; rust needs only brief free moisture (dew) to infect and wind to spread. Controlled largely through host resistance.
Septoria-type foliar/stem disease that needs rainfall for infection and spread; causes banding and premature defoliation, reduced seed fill in wet seasons.
A phytoplasma disease vectored by the aster leafhopper that also affects canola, sunflower and broadleaf weeds; infection distorts flowers and reduces seed set.
Seed- and soilborne organisms cause seed decay and seedling blight, thinning stands; yellow-seeded varieties (thinner coat) are more susceptible than brown.
Soilborne root rot reduces stand and vigor, aggravated by tight rotations and unclean seed.
pest
Adults invade from neighbouring fields, especially near harvest, and chew through the succulent stem below the bolls so that bolls drop to the ground; seedling feeding also occurs in late-seeded fields.
Cutworm larvae cut and consume seedlings at the soil line and damage is often severe before detection; armyworm larvae feed on foliage in midseason.
The vector of aster yellows; by feeding on plant juices it transmits the phytoplasma. Damage is mainly disease transmission rather than direct feeding loss.
weather
Flax is a weak competitor with weeds and must be grown on relatively weed-free fields; weed control is needed by emergence or yield losses follow.
A physiological reaction of young seedlings to high temperature at the soil surface; thin stands on dark soils are most susceptible, causing plants to fall over or later break at the soil line.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Flax (Oilseed) against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Cultural / aesthetic
- Linseed and food/feed provisioningmoderate
Flax provides linseed oil and meal with many industrial and livestock uses and human food value from its dietary fiber, omega-3 oils and lignans, supporting diversified provisioning.
Applies when: seed marketed for oil, food or feedEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: high
Biodiversity
- Rotational diversification break croplow
Flax fits into rotations with many small grains and, grown no more than one year in three, diversifies cereal-dominated systems and helps with disease and weed breaks.
Applies when: grown in a diversified small-grain rotationEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Pollinator support
- Floral resources for insectslow
Although flax is self-pollinating, its blue to white flowers over an extended flowering period offer some nectar and pollen to foraging insects in the landscape.
Applies when: during the ~25-day flowering periodEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: low
Soil health
- Deep taproot and rooting diversitylow
Flax develops a taproot that can penetrate to around 40 inches under favorable conditions, adding rooting-depth diversity to a rotation of fibrous-rooted cereals.
Applies when: favorable soil moisture and structureEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Data sourced from USDA Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) Flax commodity profile — https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/grains-oilseeds/flax — North Dakota State University Extension "Flax Production in North Dakota" (A-1038) — https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/publications/flax-production-north-dakota — and USDA NASS Crop Production reports for oilseed-flax acreage, yield, and value. Agronomic timing and disease pressure cross-referenced with University of Minnesota Extension small-grain pages.
Economics data year: 2026 · Region: lake_erie View economics source →
42 tracked changes across 7 data categories