Increasing demand draws new growers into pea production in Canada

Published Jan 6, 2022

Tridge summary

Manitoba farmers have significantly increased their planting of field peas, from 65,000 acres in 2017 to 225,000 acres in 2021, due to high fertilizer prices and the crop's nitrogen-free nature. This surge is largely attributed to the opening of Roquette Canada's pea protein plant in Portage la Prairie, the largest of its kind in the world. However, inexperienced peas growers may face challenges such as achieving the correct plant stand, requiring careful seeding rate and depth, as well as the need for inoculants to facilitate nitrogen fixation. Additionally, the avoidance of certain herbicides and the potential rot disease aphanomyces pose challenges, with farmers currently able to rotate peas every four to five years to prevent the disease from becoming established.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Manitoba farmers seeded 65,000 acres of field peas in 2017. This year that number more than tripled, as Manitoba growers planted 225,000 acres of peas. Pea acres may climb even higher in 2022 because many growers want to avoid nitrogen-dependent crops like wheat, canola and corn. “They see that fertilizer prices are high. (Peas) don’t need nitrogen. They see there is some good pricing,” said Anastasia Kubinec, an agronomist with Roquette Canada, which operates a pea protein plant in Portage la Prairie, Man. The Roquette plant, the largest pea protein facility in the world, officially opened this fall. The plant has rejuvenated pea production in Manitoba. It has the capacity to process 125,000 tonnes of peas annually. “We see this as a transformational event in our history and a boost to the global plant-based food sector,” said Pierre Courduroux, Roquette chief executive officer, in November. More growers may try peas in 2022 to supply Roquette and other buyers, but many farmers ...

Source: The Western Producer