Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Green lentils show strength, reds lag

Green lentil sales limited as farmers bullish

MarketsFarm — Green lentil bids in Western Canada are trading at their highest levels of the past year, with solid new-crop pricing opportunities already becoming available. Spot bids for large green lentils can currently be found in the 60 to 72 cents/lb. area, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data, with new-crop contracts hitting 50 cents […] Read more

Lentils. (Seb_ra/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils shift in narrow range

Farmers seen sitting on product for now

MarketsFarm — Price movement for most western Canadian lentils held narrowly rangebound for the week ended Monday. Prairie Ag Hotwire reported most prices remained one cent per pound of unchanged. To Marcos Mosnaim of Export Packers, there were two central reasons for such sparse movement in lentils. “On one side… I will say the lack […] Read more


Green lentils. (Savany/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: India extends lentil tariff suspension

Canada's 2022 crop looks nearer to normal

MarketsFarm — The decision by India’s government to continue with a suspension of import tariffs on lentils has been met with a sigh of relief from Pulse Canada. On Feb. 12, India removed an 11 per cent tariff on Canadian lentils, just seven months after reducing the same tariff from 33 per cent. On July […] Read more

Fact sheets of pulse varieties available

Reading Time: < 1 minute Pulse varietal fact sheets are now available. “Important agronomic characteristics and disease-resistance information are provided for varieties of field pea, lentil, fababean, dry bean and soybean,” said Alex Fedko, crop research technologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. In 2019, 16 seed companies submitted entries for testing at up to 20 locations across Alberta and northern […] Read more


Pulses on display at a wholesale market in Guwahati, India. This picture was taken in February so it’s possible 
the red lentils might have come from Canada. But since April, India’s pulse imports have fallen by 80 per cent.

The market is shaky but there’s still a lot of pulse acres out there

India’s absence has pushed down acres, but Alberta is still growing one of its largest-ever crops

Reading Time: 4 minutes Pea and lentil prices have crashed, but Alberta farmers are still growing a lot of pulses. “Everything that happened in India caused a shock, not only to Canada, but globally,” said Leanne Fischbuch, executive director of Alberta Pulse Growers. The peak year for pulse production in Alberta was two years ago, and acreage has dropped […] Read more

Canada’s pulse sector is poised to soar, says Murad Al-Katib.

Producers could score big in pulse industry

Murad Al-Katib says Alberta has it all — good growing conditions, port access, and containers

Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta has a huge opportunity in the pulse sector — and that’s just to meet demand already out there. That was only part of the good-news message that Murad Al-Katib brought to this year’s FarmTech. The future looks even brighter, said the president and CEO of AGT Foods in Regina. “Meeting the demand and supply […] Read more


Better varieties and equipment have made growing lentils easier, but field selection is still key.

Now’s the time to plan for next year’s lentil crop

Rocky fields and poorly drained ones are a poor choice, and high nitrogen levels will just encourage vegetative growth

Reading Time: 2 minutes In preparation for growing lentils in 2017, field selection, fall weed control, and residue management should be top of mind this fall, says a provincial crop specialist. While land rollers, flex headers, higher-podding varieties, and improved lodging resistance have allowed producers to grow lentils on less-than-ideal fields, it continues to be important to select fields […] Read more

Lentil acres in Alberta have more than doubled in 2016, thanks in part to better genetics, said provincial crop specialist Neil Whatley.

Pulses’ popularity points to bright future

The boom in pulse acres may just be getting started thanks 
to rising demand, better varieties, and strong profitability

Reading Time: 3 minutes Only one hand shot up when Neil Whatley asked a recent crop tour near Castor if anyone was growing lentils this year. Luckily, a more rigorous Statistics Canada survey tells the real story — there are a whole lot of hands growing lentils this year. “There’s close to six million acres on the Prairies this […] Read more


If you haven’t locked in lentil prices, keep a close watch on the markets as bigs can move 10 cents or more on spikes, said Alberta Pulse Growers’ Nevin Rosaasen.

Lentil harvest — and marketing — comes with a learning curve

Lentils stay green into harvest, but you don’t want to wait too long

Reading Time: 3 minutes With Alberta lentil acres more than doubling in 2016, this fall will be the first-ever lentil harvest for a good number of growers. The trick to doing it successfully? Patience, said Nevin Rosaasen, policy and program specialist with Alberta Pulse Growers. “Harvesting lentils can be tricky, and you need to be patient,” said Rosaasen. “Lentils […] Read more

man in a pea crop

No question about it — pulses are hot, hot, hot

Yellow pea and lentil seed haven’t been available for months, 
and some see pulse acres soaring by 20 per cent or more

Reading Time: 4 minutes Pulse acres are set to rise in 2016 — but the multimillion-dollar question is: How much? “Realistically, we could see a 20 to 25 per cent increase in acres just based on seed sales and the usage of inoculant,” said Mark Olson, pulse crops unit head at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “We know from what […] Read more