Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) has confirmed 30.3 per cent of eligible producers’ 2025 check-off payment is eligible for the Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit for their investment in APG-funded research and development projects.

WHY IT MATTERS: Agricultural producers need to know all the tax credits available to make their operation as profitable as possible.

How much can producers claim?

Producers are eligible to claim up to a maximum of 15 per cent for non-incorporated farm operations and up to a maximum of 35 per cent for incorporated operations of the determined 30.3 per cent.

Producers who have paid check-off this past year and have not asked for refunds are eligible claimants for this year’s credits.

How to apply for the SR&ED credit

For more detailed information about the Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Credit, APG advises producers to contact an accountant or the Canada Revenue Agency.

For a history of Scientific Research & Experimental Development visit the Alberta Pulse Growers website. Information about APG research investments in 2024-25 is also available on the website.

The federal Scientific Research & Experimental Development tax program is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency and encourages businesses to invest in and perform research and development in Canada.

The Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Credit application forms for individual producers and Canadian controlled private corporations can be downloaded directly from the CRA website.

About Alberta Pulse Growers

The Alberta Pulse Growers Commission represents 5,400 growers of field pea, dry bean, lentil, chickpea, faba bean, lupin and soybean in Alberta.

With five zones and a farmer-elected board of 12 directors, APG works to promote the benefits of pulses, both in sustainable crop rotations and as a key part of a healthy diet. Through strategic initiatives, the commission aims to enhance the sustainability, profitability and visibility of pulse production across Alberta.

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“Presently, tariffs on peas sit at 30 per cent for all countries (Canada included) and lentils sit at roughly 11 per cent for all countries,” Jeff English, vice president, public affairs for Pulse Canada, said about India’s current tariffs in an email to Glacier FarmMedia on March 30.

For daily markets updates, visit the Western Producer Markets Desk

For some time, India suspended its duties on pulses as a means to reduce food inflation, as domestic supply wasn’t quite enough to meet demand. However, with growing pressure from Indian farmers, the country’s government reimposed the levies in late 2025.

English said Pulse Canada will be in a better position to comment after the Indian government has said where it’s going with its pulse duties.

Lentil, pea prices

Heading into that, there has been little effect on pulse cash prices across Western Canada. Prairie Ag Hotwire cited a one cent increase on old crop Laird lentils, ranging from 11.5 to 25 cents per pound delivered depending on size. However, the Lairds have fallen 26 to 30 cents/lb. over the last 12 months.

Cash prices for the Eston, Richlea and French varieties were unchanged over the last week. Estons were 13 to 21.8 cents/lb. delivered and Richleas at 8.5 to 21.8 cents/lb. They as well have experienced sharp declines since a year ago, with declines between 19.3 to 31.3 cents/lb.

Crimson lentils stepped back 1.3 to 1.5 cents on the week at 14 to 25.5 cents/lb. delivered. Over the last 12 months, Crimsons are down 4.5 to cents/lb.

As for dry peas, the greens dropped 50 cents on the week at C$7.50 to C$10/bu. delivered, while the yellows were unchanged at C$7.75 to C$8.55/bu. Over the year, the green have dropped C$7.50/bu. and the yellows slipped C$2.45.

CEPA negotiations, trade mission

English also commented on the state of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement being negotiated between Canada and India.

“…the launch of negotiations is a positive step towards a new bilateral trade relationship. We look forward to playing an active role during these negotiations to ensure that Canada’s pulse sector can benefit from enhanced trade between our two countries,” he said.

Pulse Canada led a delegation to India from March 1-5 with members of other Canadian pulse organizations. The group met with government officials, traders, millers and other industry members, Pulse Canada said in a March 30 report.

“When we sit down with customers and partners in India, it reinforces that Canada is committed for the long haul. That trust is what helps keep our product moving, even when the market gets complicated,” said Terry Youzwa, chair of Pulse Canada, in the report.

According to the report, the clearest takeaway from the mission was that India will continue to need imported pulses. Industry members said the country typically only has a few months’ worth of pulse supply at a time.

“Our job is to stay connected to the market so we can bring that signal back home. That helps farmers understand where the opportunities are – not just this year, but over the long term,” said Shane Strydhorst, Pulse Canada’s vice chair.

-With files from Geralyn Wichers

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“If you have a cargo with any of the shipping lines, they are ending the journey at a destination that is not on your bill of lading,” said Tala Mobayen, director of Victoria Pulse Trading Corporation.

“They are very, very hefty at this point in time,” she said.

As a result, there is no business being conducted in that market.

“I don’t see anyone buying new cargo because they’re just worried about their safety,” said Mobayen.

Mideast accounts for $769M in pulse sales

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region bought 801,000 tonnes of Canadian pulses worth $769 million in 2025, according to Pulse Canada.

Roughly 78 per cent of that business was lentils, with chickpeas chipping in another nine per cent.

Shippers face $2,000-per-container surcharges

Saleh Reda, vice-president of GEDKO Global Trading Partners, said shippers with product on the water heading to the Middle East are being slammed with a US$2,000 per container, or $80 per tonne, surcharge.

They are also being forced to pay an $800 per container, or $32 per tonne, rerouting charge with their cargo being dropped off at the nearest safe port.

“It is for the importer to figure out how to get it from that safe port to their own destination,” he said.

GEDKO ships Canadian pulses primarily to the MENA region, although it services other markets around the world as well.

Reda said further sales to the Middle East market are “frozen” because freight forwarders are telling buyers they must pay a $200 per container emergency conflict surcharge a $500 per container rate restoration initiative fee and a $150 per container emergency fuel surcharge.

“The long and short of it is, I don’t think anybody is really having the stomach to make a sale to that region,” he said.

Algeria adds to regional trade complications

Business was already slow in the MENA region even before war broke out. Liquidity has dried up in the pulse industry due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and ensuing market uncertainty.

Reda had been anticipating brisk sales due to vastly reduced pulse prices in 2025-26, but if anything, business has been slower than the previous year.

“The demand was lousy and now it’s lousier,” he said.

Exporters are used to encountering unexpected problems in the MENA region.

For instance, Algeria recently announced that only the Algerian government is allowed to import pulses as of January 2026.

Port closures block access to key distribution hub

In the past, a couple dozen Canadian exporters would ship product to a couple dozen Algerian importers.

“It’s now pretty much going to be just one or two exporters from Canada (shipping) to that one Algerian importer,” said Reda.

“That’s one unfortunate event that has happened recently.”

However, the war in Iran is affecting multiple markets at once. Shippers can no longer access ports such as Jebel Ali located near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

It is an important hub that services many other countries in the region.

“As an exporting nation, we need every single market out there to be open for us,” he said.

Red lentil prices slip as markets close

Reda believes the sudden loss of many vital markets in the Middle East will hurt pulse prices in Canada.

Red lentil prices were about $0.23 per pound as of March 16, according to Stat Publishing. That compares to about $0.25 before the onset of the conflict in Iran.

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Peas

Canada exported 190,480 tonnes of peas in January, which was up by 15 per cent from December, reported StatCan. Year-to-date pea exports of 1.322 million tonnes were running about 200,000 tonnes behind the year-ago pace.

India was the top buyer through six months, accounting for just over 500,000 tonnes of the total pea exports. Bangladesh and China were also major buyers, although Chinese purchases of 104,406 tonnes through January compare with 413,950 tonnes at the same point a year ago.

Lentils

Canadian lentil exports were down 34 per cent in January compared to December, with about 165,342 tonnes moved out of the country. Turkey was the largest destination, accounting for 38 per cent of the total. Crop year-to-date exports of 1.191 million tonnes were down by two per cent on the year.

India was the largest buyer of lentils so far this marketing year, accounting for 30 per cent of the total. Turkey and the United Arab Emirates round out the top three.

Chickpeas

Canada exported about 19,840 tonnes of chickpeas in January, which was down 12 per cent from the previous month. The United States was the largest buyer, accounting for roughly a quarter of the total, followed by Turkey and Pakistan.

Year-to-date chickpea exports at 115,470 tonnes are running 27 per cent ahead of the 2024-25 pace.

The U.S., Turkey and Pakistan were also the top destinations for Canadian chickpeas during the 2025-26 marketing year through January.

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Dennis Lange, industry development pulses specialist for Manitoba Ag, said in a March 10 interview that any such changes “would be an option for somebody who hasn’t had fertilizer plans set up already.” Lange said if there were to be any alterations, the most likely crops to change to would be soybeans and pulses.

Fertilizer, crude oil prices rise

Fertilizer prices have spiked, following sharp hikes in crude oil prices that started when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

The day before, urea futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were about US$442 per tonne in the nearby contracts. By March 3, urea hit US$590 and closed March 10 at US$585.

In comparison, the April contract for West Texas Intermediate jumped from US$67 per barrel on Feb. 27, to almost US$95 six days later. On March 9, WTI topped out at more than US$119/barrel before closing at around US$83.50.

Fall fertilizer

Lange said Manitoba farmers managed to get down a good amount of fertilizer in the fall after a number of extensions to the application deadline following frequent rains.

“For now, I don’t foresee any big swings because there was a fair bit of fertilizer that went down last fall, on the nitrogen side anyways,” Lange said.

He added that growers will likely keep to their crop rotations and give consideration to weed issues, especially when it comes to planting peas.

“It’s the status quo for the most part, but if there’s unseeded acres or unplanned acres, that might be a shift to the crop set that might be more economical,” Lange said.

StatCan forecast

On March 5, Statistics Canada issued its planted area projections for 2026/27 and forecast less pulse acres for Manitoba while soybeans are to increase.

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That would be in addition to the planted area recently projected by Statistics Canada, as nitrogen-based fertilizers have seen price hikes of 30 per cent since the start of the current Middle East war. Vessels transiting the narrow Strait of Hormuz to and from the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf have come to a stop, which threatens global supplies.

On Feb. 27, nearby urea futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were nearly US$442 per tonne and then jumped to US$590 by March 3. Since then, urea has fluctuated with crude oil prices, closing on March 9 at US$585/tonne.

Pulses add nitrogen

Risula said in a March 10 interview that switching to pulses would make sense due to the nitrogen benefits they provide.

“But it may not be as much as one might think because there are other aspects that could influence farmers’ decisions,” he added.

He said farmers’ crop rotations would be a major consideration as well as concerns over root rot, which has been a problem for pulse crops in Saskatchewan.

Of the choices for additional pulse acres, Risula said the most likely would be lentils. Another selection he said farmers would consider is chickpeas.

“They’re growing it away from the area it was intended for, which was the drier part of southwest Saskatchewan,” he said, noting there are more chickpea varieties available.

StatCan recently forecast a 13.3 per cent increase of planted chickpea acres in Saskatchewan for 2026/27 at 559,100.

Phosphorus issues

As for lentils and peas, Risula cautioned these pulses require good phosphorus levels, which is currently a problem in the province.

“Generally, our soils have been running down in phosphorus levels,” which he said are cyclical.

That would also mean farmers would have to consider the costs to applying phosphorus where levels are lower than normal and its availability. While urea process have risen significantly, those for phosphorous are up only five per cent.

StatCan planted and forecast pulse acres in Saskatchewan

Pulse 2025/26 2026/27

Lentils 3,808,600 3,643,900

Dry Peas 1,773,000 1,479,300

Chickpeas 493,400 559,100

Faba Beans 15,300 29,800

Dry Beans 8,600 n/a

– With files from Sean Pratt, Glacier FarmMedia

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Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. in Winnipeg said large carryouts and lower prices over the past year will likely mean fewer pulse acres this spring.

“Like for all commodities, prices are down quite a bit. So your return-per-acre calculation will change very significantly,” Boersch said. “On top of that, for both lentils and peas, you will have some very significant carryout.”

Seeded lentil acres were estimated at 4.138 million tonnes, down 5.5 per cent from last year. The total would be the least amount of acres in three years and the second-least since 2020. One reason for the decline would be the 2025-26 carryout of 1.695 million tonnes, more than three times larger than the previous year’s.

Dry pea acres were also set to be lower, dropping by 12.3 per cent at 3.078 million acres. The figure was also the lowest in three years and the second-lowest since 2012. Dry pea plantings will decline in all three Prairie provinces, most notably Saskatchewan where it will lose 16.6 per cent for a total of 1.479 million. The 2025-26 carryout for dry peas was 1.31 million tonnes, nearly triple from the previous year.

The amount of edible bean acres is projected to decline by 30.7 per cent at 295,000 acres, the smallest total since 2015 and one year after the biggest edible bean crop since 2020. Manitoba’s seeded area was estimated at 120,000 tonnes this year, down 44.7 per cent from 2025.

StatCan estimated faba beans acres this spring to total 55,900, 18.8 per cent lower than in 2025 and the fewest acres since 2016. It would also mark the fourth straight time faba bean acres in Canada declined year-by-year.

Chickpeas were the only pulse to buck the trend. Canadians are expected to use 6.3 per cent more land than last year to grow the crop at 575,000 acres. It would be the fifth straight yearly increase for chickpeas and its largest seeded area since 2001. This is despite 2026 ending stocks for chickpeas having more than quadrupled from the year before at 275,000 tonnes.

The planting survey was conducted from mid-December to mid-January. However, rising fertilizer prices tied to the escalating conflict in the Middle East could shift planting intentions, said Glacier FarmMedia analyst Bruce Burnett. He said the relatively lower input costs for pulse crops compared to other options could lead to more area going to peas and lentils this spring than earlier expectations.

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Based on interviews by Glacier FarmMedia, the general outlook is for more planted acres devoted to canola, spring wheat, barley and oats. Then expectations are for less durum, corn, soybeans, lentils and peas going into the ground.

Canada-China trade deal

Of note, the StatCan report will be based on farmer surveys conducted in December. That was before Canada and China reached their tariff deal that has eliminated or slashed levies on China’s imports of Canadian canola seed and meal, as well as other products.

Jon Driedger of Leftfield Commodities said farmers were very likely planning to seed more canola this year anyways.

“Prior to the China trade deal, canola was penciling out better than a lot of other crops,” Driedger said, noting that agronomics may limit how much farmers can plant of each crop.

John DePape of Farm Co. projected 22.50 million acres of canola to be planted in 2026/27, suggesting that “would be on the lower side.”

Jerry Klassen of Resilient Capital said he expects Canadian farmers to revert to their more traditional plantings, which would see larger crops such as canola and spring wheat, while there’s likely to be less durum planted. Klassen said a good amount of durum was seeded last year in areas that traditionally grow very little of it.

He concurred that more canola will be planted in 2026/27 because it offers the best returns.

Pulses, cereals

For pulses, Klassen said less acres will be allocated to them due to their large ending stocks, especially for lentils and peas.

Klassen added that high fertilizer prices and supply shortages of it could affect farmers’ planting decisions, especially in Manitoba and Ontario.

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced Feb. 19 that the USDA intended to purchase up to $263 million in dairy and agricultural products from U.S. farmers and producers to distribute to food banks and nutrition assistance programs across the country.

“From milk and dairy to fruits, legumes, and tree nuts, these staples are essential for feeding families and sustaining America’s agricultural economy,” said Rollins.

Pulses make up US$75 million of that total, with US$25 million allocated for edible beans, US$24 million for split peas, US$14 million for lentils and US$12 million for chickpeas. The remainder of the funds are slated for dairy, fresh fruit and nuts.

The purchases will be made through USDA’s authority under Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935 with the stated goal of assisting producers and communities in need.

USA Pulses welcomed the move, with CEO Tim McGreevy noting in a Global Pulses report that the announcement provides “meaningful support for American pulse producers while helping deliver nutritious, affordable food to families across the country.”

He added that investment recognizes “the essential role pulses play in both uplifting rural and agricultural communities and promoting food security,” and noted the purchases will help “stabilize farm income, strengthen rural economies, and ensure food banks and nutrition assistance programs have access to shelf-stable, protein-rich foods.”

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Overall

The IGC trimmed world grain production for 2025/26 by one million tonnes at 2.46 billion.

• Total supply was cut by 3.60 million tonnes at nearly 3.05 billion.
• Total feed, industrial and feed use was lowered by one million tonnes to just short of 2.42 billion.
• Ending stocks dropped by 2.70 million tonnes at 631.10 million.

Soybeans

The IGC raised its global soybean production call for 2025/26 by 1.30 million tonnes from January, now at 428.20 million.

• Total supply was bumped up 1.40 million tonnes at 510 million.
• There was an increase to Brazilian production with two million tonnes added to its crop at 179 million. That was partly offset by an 800,000-tonne reduction to Argentina’s harvest at 47 million.
• A 900,000-tonne cut to total use brought it to 430.80 million tonnes.
• The world soybean carryover was raised 2.30 million tonnes at 79.20 million.

Wheat

For world wheat, 300,000 tonnes were shaved off of output at 841.70 million for 2025/26, as the IGC took that amount off from its call on the European Union harvest at 143.40 million.

• Total global supplies were lowered by 1.10 million tonnes at almost 1.11 billion.
• Total use was trimmed 300,000 tonnes at 822.80 million.
• Ending stocks came down 900,000 tonnes at 282.40 million.

Corn

For global corn production, the IGC upped tacked on 500,000 tonnes at 1.31 billion.

• Total supplies were raised by 700,000 tonnes at 1.60 billion.
• Total use was increased by 800,000 tonnes at nearly 1.30 billion.
• The world carryover remained at 304.80 million.

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