Dry Peas & Lentils

Dry pea and lentil producers got off to a bit of a rocky start this year, but things quickly turned around. Tim McGreevy, with the U.S. Dry Pea & Lentil Council explains.

MCGREEVY: We had a late spring, which is always worrisome, because everything got in at least a couple of weeks late because of too much moisture. But then it stayed pretty cool all the way through June. We had some folks that had some hail damage down in the Walla Walla, Columbia County area, not really much hail here in the Greater Palouse area. But still a relatively small percentage of our overall production got hit with hail. We did get a little hot weather in July that probably knocked a few blooms off the peas and lentils, but again not extreme.

With harvest of dry peas pretty well wrapped up, McGreevy says yields are looking good.

MCGREEVY: Our ten year average for dry peas is about 18 to 19 hundred pounds per acre, and I’ve been hearing yields in the 19 to 21 hundred pound per acre here in Washington and Idaho. Over all this should be a pretty good harvest for the guys and so far we’ve seen prices stay pretty strong for these commodities. It’s a good year to be a pulse grower.

USDA’s Risk Management Agency has announced approval of a Pulse Crop Revenue Endorsement for the 2013 crop year under the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance program in Washington and Idaho. Fall-planted dry pea and lentil producers wanting to insure spring types under the revenue plan must do so this fall when they purchase their winter coverage. October 1 is the sales closing date for fall peas and lentils with the winter coverage option. Visit your crop insurance agent for details.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.