Direct answer: One tonne of canola is 44.092 bushels, based on the standard 50-pound canola bushel. To turn a canola price in Canadian dollars per tonne into dollars per bushel, divide by 44.092. To go the other way, multiply a per-bushel price by 44.092. Using the Jan 2027 ICE canola settle on Oct 26, 2026 (C$793.80 per tonne), that works out to about C$18.00 per bushel.
Where 44.092 comes from
A tonne (metric ton) is 1,000 kilograms, or 2,204.62 pounds. A bushel of canola is a weight bushel of 50 pounds. Divide 2,204.62 by 50 and you get 44.092 bushels per tonne.
That 50-pound weight is the same one Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) in Alberta uses in its grain conversion table for crop insurance and AgriStability. Most Prairie buyers and price services that quote canola per bushel use the same factor, so 44.092 is the number to keep on a sticky note in the truck.
Canola is a weight bushel, not a volume bushel. Test weight is not a grading factor for canola, so a "heavy" or "light" sample does not change the conversion the way it can for oats or barley.
Converting the ICE close to a per-bushel number
ICE canola futures are quoted in Canadian dollars per tonne. The Daily Board prints that close in the same unit. Here is the arithmetic at a few round price levels (conversion only, not quotes):
C$ per tonne | C$ per bushel (÷ 44.092) |
|---|---|
$600 | $13.61 |
$650 | $14.74 |
$700 | $15.88 |
$750 | $17.01 |
$793.80 (Jan settle, Oct 26, 2026) | $18.00 |
$800 | $18.14 |
$850 | $19.28 |
A quick mental shortcut: every C$10 per tonne is about 23 cents per bushel (10 ÷ 44.092 = 0.227). A C$20 per tonne daily move is roughly 45 cents a bushel.
Why the futures number is not your bushel price
The per-bushel figure above is the futures price converted, not a cash bid. Your elevator or crusher bid is the futures price plus or minus basis (the gap between your local cash bid and the futures price). Basis is usually quoted in dollars per tonne, so convert after you add it, not before:
Step 1: Take the futures month the buyer is pricing against (for example Jan), in C$ per tonne.
Step 2: Add the buyer's basis, also in C$ per tonne (usually a negative number).
Step 3: Divide the result by 44.092 for a per-bushel cash price.
Two other places the numbers drift: dockage and freight. A bid quoted "delivered" includes getting the grain to the plant; a bid quoted at the farm or FOB does not. Clean-seed weight after dockage is what gets paid, so a load with high dockage pays on fewer bushels than the scale ticket's gross weight suggests.
Per tonne or per bushel: which should you use?
Futures, crushers and most export trade work in tonnes. Many Prairie farmers still think in bushels because yields are measured in bushels per acre. Neither is wrong; the mistake is mixing them. If you compare a per-bushel bid from one buyer with a per-tonne bid from another, convert both to the same unit first.
The same logic applies across crops, but the factor changes with the bushel weight. Wheat and soybeans use a 60-pound bushel (36.744 per tonne), corn 56 pounds (39.368). The grain bushels-to-tonnes guide has the full table.
Frequently asked questions
How many bushels of canola are in a tonne?
44.092 bushels, based on a 50-pound canola bushel (2,204.62 pounds per tonne divided by 50).
How do I convert a canola price per tonne to per bushel?
Divide the C$ per tonne price by 44.092. For example, C$793.80 per tonne is about C$18.00 per bushel.
Is the ICE canola price per tonne or per bushel?
Per tonne. ICE canola futures are quoted in Canadian dollars per tonne, with each contract covering 20 tonnes.
Why is my elevator's canola bid lower than the futures price?
Because the cash bid is futures plus basis, and basis is usually negative. Freight, local supply, crusher demand and the delivery window all feed into it.
