The southern Great Plains witnessed a 240 percent increase in winter canola acres from 2004 to 2005. Nearly 60,000 acres were planted in fall 2005 with the majority being seeded in the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. This increase in acres was partly made possible by improvements to the winter hardiness and yield potential of adapted winter canola cultivars bred by Kansas State University. Since 1991, K-State has operated a regional canola breeding program for the Great Plains. In the summer of 2005, K-State and Oklahoma State University combined available resources to continue funding the regional program and further the advancement of winter canola as an alternative crop. Superior canola-quality lines are tested nationally in a three-tiered, multi-location yield trial system. The first trial is called the Early Generation Screening Nursery. Experimental lines in this trial demonstrating strong adaptation to the region are advanced after one year of testing to the Great Plains Canola Variety Trial. An experimental line spends no more than two years in this trial before it is either dropped or advanced to the National Winter Canola Variety Trial for further evaluation. Results have aided various public and private breeding programs in making decisions on the release of experimental varieties.