It would seem a bit of a stretch to link the terrorist events of Sept.
11 with a pulse crop conference.
Tim McGreevy made that leap more than once. He closed his presentation
to the 1,550 farmers attending Pulse Days 2002 with a photograph of a
commercial jet crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers in
New York on that tragic day in September.
It was to illustrate his point that Canadians and Americans ought to
spend less time bickering about trade issues and more time thinking
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The executive director of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council had
another reason for showing the slide. He said the events of Sept. 11
have created an opportunity for pulse producers in Canada and the
United States.
The terrorist attacks have made Americans leery about who they buy
their oil from. The main oil exporting countries are in the volatile
Middle East, which has some Americans calling for the development of a
domestic biofuel industry.
McGreevy said there are provisions in proposed energy and farm bills to
invest in alternative fuels, including biodiesel and ethanol.
“The trend has been, as long as oil is cheap, why rock the boat, why
pay more for alternative fuels,” he said in an interview after his
presentation.
“But the psyche in the United States is pretty different right now.
This shook us up pretty big.”
The main beneficiaries of an expanded biofuel industry would be corn
and soybean growers, because those crops have the oil content required
for the process.
But McGreevy said it could also be a godsend for pulse growers because
it would take some corn and soybeans out of hog rations.
“There is a real opportunity for feed peas to fill the gap left by
those crops moving into a renewable energy resource.”
The political will seems to be there to develop this industry all the
way up to George W. Bush in the White House.
“To have a president who’s an old oil man come out and say we need to
work on alternative fuels I feel is a good sign.”
Companies are also recognizing biofuel’s potential. In it’s latest
annual report, multinational grain giant Archer Daniels Midland
identified ethanol as “one of its biggest stories in fiscal 2001” and
said it would increase production to 950 million gallons by the end of
the year.
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers executive director Garth Patterson said his
board of directors long ago identified the ethanol industry as a growth
opportunity for feed peas. Sept. 11 just strengthened that conviction.
“Since that has happened I think there’s even more opportunity.”
