This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Not all research begins with a plan. Some studies begin by accident. Meredith Schafer says that is what happened with her and Cynthia Sagers.
Cynthia Sagers is a biology professor at the University of Arkansas. Meredith Schafer is a graduate student.
They were traveling in the state of North Dakota on a project. They noticed pretty yellow flowers.
They recognized them as canola. Farmers grow canola for seeds to make cooking oil. Canola is also used for animal feed and biofuel.