Throughout the history of our province, agriculture has been the
backbone of our economy. Although
in recent times the industry has been supplanted by oil and potash as the
major sources of government revenue, farming has nonetheless remained a
vital part of rural life and Saskatchewan culture.
Right
now, agriculture producers are in the process of planting the crops that
feed an increasing world population. The
types of crops being sown into the prairie soil are as diverse as the many
cultural backgrounds that make up our province.
Saskatchewan is and for generations has been known as Canada’s
largest producer of wheat. Other
cereal crops such as barley and oats are also quite common across the
landscape. Canola has
especially seen a rise in production due to increasing demand for
bio-diesel. This has resulted
in the construction of new canola crushing facilities (Louis
Dreyfus Canada and Richardson
Int’l) in Yorkton and expansion of the existing Cargill
facility at Clavet.
However,
one crop has seen an increase in production that has not been traditionally
associated with farming in Saskatchewan.
Pulse crops, specifically edible peas (Pisum sativum), have
caught the eye of many producers as a possible alternative in planning a
crop rotation. This typical vegetable plant is no longer relegated to rows
planted in backyard gardens; they are beginning to emerge as a vital
commodity to our economy.
Edible
peas as a commodity are classified into two different varieties:
green and yellow. The
product may either be sold as a whole grain or split by processing.
Whole peas are ¼ inch around in size and differ in color as per
their name. Processing involves
splitting the pea in half at the middle and it is in this form that is most
common. Split peas have a mild
flavor, soft texture and a more ‘earthly’ taste than whole peas.
Pulse crops have been used around the globe for more than 20000 years
dating back to the times of Egyptian pyramids and had been a common crop in
eastern Canada at the turn of the century.
The pulse industry in Saskatchewan did not begin to emerge until the
1970’s. It was at this time
that Canada as well as other wheat-producing countries experienced a glut,
which involved huge stockpiles of product and low prices.
This forced farmers to explore other cropping options.
As a result, new crops such as oilseeds and pulses began to gain a
foothold in the grain market. Production of pulse crops has subsequently increased 35 fold
since 1985. Total edible pea
production has risen from 141,500 tonnes in 1988 to 2,732,400 in 2008, as
tabulated by the Saskatchewan
Ministry of Agriculture. Part
of the reason for the increase has been due to changes in farming practices
over the years including a reduction in summer-fallowing.
Research has found that a diverse crop rotation instead of
monoculture provides improved control of weeds and disease. In addition, the recent jump in the price of synthetic
fertilizer has encouraged producers to plant more acres due to the ability
of the crop to fix atmospheric nitrogen from the air.
This nitrogen is then available to subsequent crops in future years,
which decreases the amount of synthetic nitrogen that a farmer must apply,
thus saving money.
It is common knowledge that Saskatchewan is the largest exporter, as
well as producer, of wheat in Canada. A
lesser-known fact is that Saskatchewan also leads the country in pulse
exports as well. Edible pea
producers in the province account for 77% of the total Canadian pea crop.
In turn, Canada is the world’s single largest pulse exporter with
26% of the total market. Canada’s
main competition in the pulse market is France, Australia and the United
States. Asia is the single
largest importer of Canadian pulses with 52% of the market share. Countries in the Indian sub-continent, which includes India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh, receive the majority of these imports.
Cuba, Colombia, Japan and Brazil also import significant amounts of
peas for their own purposes. For example, Japan processes its imported peas into snack
foods, as stated by Saskatchewan Pulse
Growers.
Much of Saskatchewan’s edible pea crop is exported as raw, whole
product. However, there are many processing facilities located right
here in the province. These
businesses purchase harvested peas from local producers and export processed
product abroad. Edible peas are
commonly sold in bulk or in bags to a customer’s exact specifications.
Other pulse crops are often processed as well. Many of these
businesses are located in rural areas, which provide employment for local
residents. As the pulse market
continues to grow, more of these processing facilities will become necessary
to handle the increase in crop harvested.
It would appear that the future of edible pea production is very
bright. The price of edible peas has consistently risen since October
2006 and while it has decreased slightly since February 2008 when the price
was $10.75/bushel, it continues to remain at a relatively high level,
approximately ($8.92/bushel). As
farming practices move towards increasingly diverse crop rotations and
synthetic nitrogen prices remain high, there is no reason to believe that
pea acres will decrease significantly any time soon.
For the value-added pulse processing businesses in rural
Saskatchewan, increased pea acres will allow these businesses to thrive and
contribute more to the local economy.
In many ways, diversification into edible peas and other pulses
resembled the economic history of Saskatchewan itself.
The province was founded on the basis of agriculture being the
dominant industry. Today
potash, oil and mining have diversified the economy to the extent that
agriculture is now one of many thriving industries.
While it is unlikely that wheat as a crop will lose its place at the
top, edible peas have the potential to become predominant across the prairie
landscape that our ancestors broke to cultivate a better life from more than
a hundred years ago.
