March 1997
Field peas: Great agronomics, but uncertain markets
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
The field pea is a practical alternative crop for northwest Minnesota, according to Hans Kandel, Red Lake County extension educator. It is easy to establish in a crop rotation, as it can be grown on a wide range of soil types and requires the same production equipment as wheat. Further, wheat following field peas in a rotation can yield up to 20% more than wheat planted to wheat or barley ground.
Kandel says that field pea production benefits are numerous, including high yields (about 2,500 to 3,000 lbs per acre) and improvement of soil quality. Field peas also produce ample amounts of nitrogen, reducing fertilizer needs for the following crop. It also has the potential to break the wheat disease cycle, although it is less competitive with weeds early in the growing season.
Uncertain market return
Field pea markets can be a mixed bag. "Agronomically, you can’t beat a pea," says Steve Edwardson of Minn-Dak Growers, based in Grand Forks. "But the market is uncertain and prices for pea-based livestock feed are low." With pea production relatively new to the Northern Plains, input costs average 30% higher than for wheat. Seed prices vary greatly, from $7 per bushel for older varieties to $15 for newer varieties.
However, peas generally outyield wheat by 10 to 30 percent. And on a per-bushel comparison, the average price for wheat was $3.43 per bushel from 1986 to 1995, compared to an average of $5.30 for peas, according to the ND Ag Statistics Service.
The main caveats of pea production and marketing include: compatibility of a variety to the region (for example, in western ND and eastern MT the older Trapper variety is more practical than the newer varieties), and choosing a feasible market. Case in point: Canada currently produces over 2 million acres of peas, compared to 150,000 acres in the U.S. Consequently, Canadian field pea production monopolizes the European feed market. For U.S. growers to obtain a piece of that market, emphasis needs to be on high-quality production, says Joe Bloms of Continental Grains in Ray, ND. Bloms suggests that growers start small, ease into production, (you may want to grow your own seed for planting until prices for new varieties decrease, suggests Bloms) and research the marketplace.