Despite fewer pea acres, Saskatchewan will grow more pulse crops this year because of increases in lentils and chickpeas.
That’s the forecast from two surveys done by the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association.
One survey was done in January during the association’s annual meeting in Saskatoon; the other was done during a series of regional meetings in February.
Garth Patterson, SPG executive director, said it is difficult to compare the two surveys because the February effort is skewed to southern growers partly because one meeting in a northern area was cancelled due to a storm. Also, the January meeting tends to draw experienced growers while the regional meetings in February draw more first-time growers.
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“But the take-home message is that there is going to be some sort of reduction in pea acres. It’s hard to say what it will be. There will be a definite increase in lentil acres and a huge increase in chickpea acres,” said Patterson.
He said the January poll forecast a 14 percent reduction in pea area and lower plantings in all pea categories. The February one suggesting a three percent fall from a combination of a drop in yellow pea area and an increase in green pea acres.
Patterson estimated that pea area will be down about 11 percent.
“With peas at a record low price now and greens trading lower than yellow peas, the January survey seems to make sense.
“Although, I was talking to someone in the industry the other day and there is always psychology involved in planting decisions. Maybe growers are speculating that greens will come around.”
But he thinks a more logical interpretation is that the February survey reflects new growers who are adding a field of peas to their rotation for the first time rather than experienced growers expanding acres.
From the price prospects of today, growers can break even on peas only if inputs are kept to a minimum.
“But growers are facing tough times and are looking for alternatives and there is not much there, so maybe they are looking at (peas) as the lesser of other evils.
“Last year, others said that with markets signals, we’d see acreage drop, but we saw a significant increase. There are nonmonetary benefits that affect decision making. There are advantages to the succeeding crop and soil advantages.”
The surveys show lentil acreage will grow between 13 and 25 percent, he said. Estons, red lentils and the “other lentil” category increased more than Lairds.
“Laird prices have softened in the last few weeks. Estons have stayed fairly consistent. The others tend to be niche basis like Spanish brown … There has been some demand for Richlea lentils. Farmers could be reacting to that sort of feedback from the trade for the medium size lentil.”
Patterson said the February survey was a good indicator of the huge increase in chickpeas this year. The survey forecasts a fourfold increase in chickpeas to 386,496 acres.
Patterson thought seed availability problems might have kept a lid on chickpea expansion, but it might not have been as severe as thought.
The February survey forecast a 38 percent increase in bean acreage, but at only about 12,000 acres, it is still a minor crop in Saskatchewan, although it is much more popular in Manitoba and, increasingly, in Alberta.
