CNS Canada — While Statistics Canada is predicting a drop in fababean acres this year, an agronomist with Saskatchewan Pulse Growers hopes that isn’t the case. “We had about 50,000 acres for the last three years here in Saskatchewan. And we’re thinking that we’ll be maybe slightly below that,” said SPG agronomy manager Sherrilyn Phelps. […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Sector hopes for more fababeans
Persistence pays off in quest to make gin from fabas
Using the beans produced decidedly unappetizing results but fababean flowers yielded a hit for Nisku distillery
Reading Time: 2 minutes Out of failure, you can create something pretty tasty. That’s what the staff at Rig Hand Distillery near Nisku learned when they teamed up with Alberta Pulse Growers to create a fababean-based gin. “We were approached about a year ago by the Alberta Pulse Growers Association,” said Geoff Stewart, owner, president, and distiller with Rig […] Read more
Grain grading changes for Western Canada
The Canadian Grain Commission has announced several grain grading changes for the 2017 to 2018 crop year in Western Canada that will take effect August 1, 2017: It has added an ergot tolerance of 0.05 per cent in all grades of fababeans and chickpeas; Changed the tolerance for grasshopper and army worm damage from eight […] Read more
Pea leaf weevils: The danger comes from below
Adults chomping on leaves aren’t the problem with these pests — it’s their offspring feeding on root nodules
Reading Time: 3 minutes Pea leaf weevils are on the move and are now being reported in crops as far north as Edmonton. The pest first appeared in Alberta in 2000 and they have become a huge threat to fababean and field pea growers in the province. Originally nesting in the south, they have migrated and are now appearing […] Read more
ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Lessons learned, and a look ahead
‘Don’t wait for the perfect day’ is one of the key lessons from 2016, and sticking to rotations may be one for this year
Reading Time: 6 minutes Allison Ammeter didn’t see the inside of a combine in October. As harvest carried on across the province, Ammeter was left waiting and wondering when the rains would stop and whether she and husband Mike would finish harvest before the snow started flying. They didn’t. “We got not quite two-thirds done, which is fairly average […] Read more
Fababeans get a reality check
Fabas were on a tear until this year, but experts expect the crop to have a solid, but modest, future in Alberta
Reading Time: 4 minutes With the sharp drop in Alberta fababean acres in 2016, has the clock struck midnight for last year’s Cinderella crop? Maybe, maybe not, says a provincial pulse expert. “I just can’t see them going away,” said Mark Olson, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s pulse crops unit head. “I don’t think the acres are going to go […] Read more
Ergot tolerances set for chickpeas, fababeans
Chickpeas and fababean crops graded in Canada will have a new maximum tolerance for ergot next year, even though the cereal disease doesn’t occur in either crop. The Canadian Grain Commission on Wednesday announced an ergot tolerance of 0.05 per cent for all grades of fababeans and chickpeas in Western Canada effective Aug. 1, 2017, […] Read more
The enticing — and sometimes scary — world of alternative crops
Crops like fababeans and hemp don’t command huge acres, but have been successful alternatives for Alberta producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers are nothing if not optimistic — optimistic that Mother Nature will be kind; that prices will be good; and that today’s work will pay off a month, six months, or a year down the road. But for all their hopefulness, only some are willing to stray far from tried-and-true crops. “There is always some […] Read more
Fababean acreage muted this year
CNS Canada –– Lower pricing and a softer supply/demand ratio has fababeans trailing some of their more high-profile pulse cousins when it comes to grower intentions across the Canadian Prairies this year. “The marketplace is really being driven by lentils and peas. The indication for many growers is to put their acres into those type […] Read more
Ready to launch: Why pulses are the future of food
Peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas have been around for centuries, but they are poised to enter the spotlight like never before
Reading Time: 3 minutes Can an old food become new again? Peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas have been staples for centuries, but pulses are on the verge of becoming the next big thing. Next year, 2016, is the United Nations’ International Year of Pulses (IYoP) and there is a fistful of good reasons why these crops could become the […] Read more
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