Pulse production in Saskatchewan is projected to grow by nearly 20 percent this coming crop year.
Nine meetings and 800 growers later the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers association has completed its winter round of meetings and the survey says pulses are up.
Cropping plans for growers attending the meetings include a 19 percent acreage increase over 1996.
Major increases in new crops such as a 200 percent increase in chickpeas and 100 percent for dry beans provide a 23,000 acre combined increase, representing seven percent of the total rise in pulse crops. Peas are predicted to be the focus of many producers with a 32 percent increase in acreage to 1.2 million acres.
Transportation a factor
Lentil plantings are predicted to increase by only one percent and may actually decrease from last year as spring approaches. Lower lentil prices and transportation problems may convince many growers not to plant lentils this year.
Lower wheat prices, higher fertilizer costs, rail transportation delays, a late spring, relatively strong prices and demand for pulse crops and more land converted to continuous cropping are all factors in the increase.
