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741 Incorporating a high degree of crop diversity in a region can enhance the management of insect pests, weeds, and can reduce plant diseases, as well as increase the biodiversity of the cropping system (McLaughlin and Mineau, 1995; May, 2015). With a changing climate and increasing agronomic research, crops from around the globe have the potential to be introduced to new areas. In recent years, niger (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.) has been introduced to the Northern Great Plains region, with the potential to offer another cropping option for farmers and to provide a local supply of raw birdseed for the North American birdseed industry (May et al., 2011; Johnson et al., 2010). Niger is an open-pollinated oilseed crop, belonging to the same botanical family as sunflower and safflower (Compositae), and was domesticated in Ethiopia (Harlan, 1969; Hiremath and Murthy, 1988; Getinet and Sharma, 1996). Niger has historically been cultivated in temperate and tropical climates alike, being considered a temperate-region plant that has adapted or been bred for a semi-tropical environment (Ramadan, 2012). It has an indeterminate growth habit which results in plant heights varying from 0.3 to 2.0 m depending on environmental conditions (Kandel et al., 2004). In Ethiopia, niger is usually grown on poor soils with a low input cropping system (Getinet and Sharma, 1996). While niger is a major oilseed crop in India and Ethiopia, niger is used for birdseed mixtures in North America and Europe (Johnson et al., 2010). In Saskatchewan, birdseed suppliers currently import niger from Africa and India (May et al., 2011). Domestic consumption of niger seed into the United Sates was approximately 70 million pounds in 2002; a demand which would give North American niger production an advantage given that a market for niger already exists (Kandel and Porter, 2002). Besides use as a bird seed, the oil in the niger can be extracted for human use. The oil content of niger seed has been reported to range from 29 to 50%, and may be used for cooking, lighting, anointing, painting, and cleaning of machinery (Dutta et al., 1994; Kandel and Porter, 2002; Ramadan, 2012). Niger oil is rich in tocopherols (antioxidants) and vitamin K at higher levels than other oilseed species high in linoleic acid (Ramadan, 2012). Quantity of niger seed imports are limited by local production, domestic needs, politics, shipping distances, international trade, cost and currency exchange. These limitations fluctuate annually, resulting in both foreign Niger Response to Nitrogen and Seeding Depth in the Northern Great Plains