11/09/05 Pulse crops turn up in record numbers

Thanks to increased acreage in the Midwest of dry peas and lentils pulse crop production is up nationwide. But Todd Schultz of the US Dry Pea and Lentil Council in Moscow says the Northwest growers had below average yields due in part to a lack of deep soil moisture and disease pressure. SCHULTZ "We have an annual aphid influx and this year they seemed to be carry a lot of disease with them, a virus. And so we had probably eight to ten thousand acres of lentils in Camas prairie that were abandoned." Dry peas, lentils and chickpeas all produced lower yields in Idaho and the Northwest. Quality is another story. SCHULTZ - "Average quality for the region is Number 1 for both peas and lentils and then chickpeas, the size is maybe a little smaller than normal, but generally it's Number 1." Canadian supply sets the world price and so there has been downward pressure on lentils and dry peas while chickpea prices have remained strong. The Council puts U.S. field pea production at just over 668 million tons, three times the average of 242 million. Lentil production is pegged at 219.4 million tons where the average is 134.5 million. U.S. Chickpea production is at 40.1 million tons compared to an average of 25.1 million. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott