Growing Pulse Crops

In this episode, Dr. Clare Coyne , curator of the USDA cool season food legume collection in Pullman, Washington gives us a really fascinating look into this extensive collection. You’ll hear how the collection is curated, preserved and utilized to continue to provide high quality seed to researchers, and ultimately to farmers. The seeds are stored under refrigeration and controlled humidity as pa...

For the past 15 years, Tony Wagner has been on a journey to improve the soil health of his farmland, which runs the gamut from sandy to high clay. He’s located about 100 miles west of Fargo, so farther east than a lot of the North Dakota pulse growers, but he says they’ve worked well in his rotation. Tony shares how he got into pulses, why he’s stuck with them, how they fit into building soil heal...

Dr. Alan McKay joins us all the way from Australia, to talk about some exciting work they are doing to measure various soil microbes including pathogens and beneficial rhizobia.  Dr McKay is the Leader of the Soil Biology and Molecular Diagnostics group at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). He is committed to not only studying soil-borne diseases and other aspect...

We have a great discussion for you featuring Jeff Rumney , Vice President of Marketing at the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council , Johanna Stobbs , who works to promote U.S. pulses in the European market, and Raul Caballero who represents U.S. pulses in Mexico and throughout Latin America.  US Pulses are widely recognized and preferred in the global marketplace with lots of opportunity for growth...

Dr. Tim Seipel joins us to talk about integrated weed management. Tim is a Cropland Weed Extension Specialist at Montana State University. In this episode, he’ll talk about the threat of weed resistance, how to think about weed management strategies, and some of the tactics they are working on to combat some of the most threatening weeds to pulse crops.  “Integrated weed management is an appr...

March 15th is the last day to complete enrollment for 2021 agriculture risk coverage and price loss coverage programs. Considering that day is coming up in less than two weeks from when this episode publishes, we thought we’d bring you a little bit of timely information about crop insurance in pulses.  Steve Junghans is a risk management specialist at the USDA risk management agency regional...

Today we consider the economic opportunities of adding pulse crops into your operations. Dan Folske is an extension agent in Burke County, North Dakota, which is in the northwest part of the state. He’s been there in that position for over 30 years, and a big part of what he does is work with farmers to establish budgets and utilize tools for business decisions. Dan’s going to share what he’s seei...

Don’t forget to register today for the Northern Pulse Growers Association Annual Convention happening January 19th - 21st. You can get all the information over at www. NorthernPulse.com .  In this panel we explore the advantages and challenges associated with the grading of pulse crops. While many producers grow frustrated by more criteria or hoops to jump through, our experts suggest that wi...

Paul Kanning led our panel on “Making Your Farm Equipment Work for you.” Paul is the MPCC Vice Chair as well as a producer from Flaxville, Montana. He was joined by Lowell Harris, a service manager at Torgerson’s LLC, Phil Moodie, a store manager for Front Line Ag, James Neumon, a service manager from Hoven Equipment Company and Mike Kjos, a store manager for C & B Operations. Needless to say,...

Dr. Mike Ostlie hosts a panel discussing the potential and process for intercropping with pulse crops. Dr. Ostlie is a research agronomist at NDSU Carrington REC. He leads us through a discussion with Justin Jacobs a Research Specialist at NDSU Williston REC, Dr. Chengci Chen a Cropping Systems Agronomist and Superintendent of the Montana State University Eastern Ag Research Center and Karl Mavenc...

**Register for the Northern Pulse Growers Association Annual Convention happening virtually January 19-21: https://www.northernpulse.com/events/conventions/ Today's episode was recorded live at the NPGA Montana Pulse Day Virtual Event in November. USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council CEO Tim McGreevy gave a presentation on domestic and international pulse markets, then opened the floor for some Q&A...

Please help provide feedback for the Growing Pulse Crops Podcast by completing our survey! Click the link here! We look forward to hearing from you! Dr. Joe Ikley is an Extension Weed Specialist at North Dakota State University and joins us to explain why fall weed control is crucial to best crop management. His extension responsibilities there include weed control on all row crops except for suga...

Can you tell the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chickpea? Neither can I. The bean is referred to as both so pick your favorite. Phil Hinrichs joins us from Hinrichs Trading Company to share his experiences with growing chickpeas and watching the industry grow. Initially chickpeas were mainly grown for export but in the last ten years have developed a domestic market that has really been...

Not all crops are created equal. Sometimes, crops have the ability to contribute far more than their yield to an operation. Today we meet with Howard Nelson, a recently retired agronomist at Highline Grain Growers and Mark Sheffels a farmer who lives in Eastern Washington, the territory Howard once covered. During his career, Howard focused his efforts on finding another crop to work into a wheat...

Today in episode ten, we explore harvest aids with Dr. Drew Lyon from Washington State University. We also get an update on current pulse markets from Kevin Buxa of Halo Commodity Company based in Fargo, ND.  If you’re new to pulse crops, they include crops such as field peas, chickpeas and lentils. This show follows some pulse crop farmers through the growing season and dives into the resear...

Pulses require unique rotations, harvesting and inputs. To continue with this theme, they also have unique pest challenges. Today we are joined by Lance Lindbloom the Lead Agronomist for 406 Agronomy and Dr. Sean Prager an Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture and Bioresources Plant Science Department. “Our chickpeas are ones that are most bulletproof when it...

Can intercropping pulses with other crops help with problems like disease pressure? That's what we explore on this episode. Farmer driven research at the Southeast Research Farm in Saskatchewan is a non-profit gift to farmers. Lana Shaw is the Research Manager there and has become the resident expert on intercropping specifically with flax and chickpeas. “Adding a small amount of flax to chickpeas...

Canada has long been a leader in pulse crop production. A lot of what we know and use in the United States comes from their experiences and research. We are joined today by Dale Risula. Dale is the Provincial Specialist for pulse crops and other specialty crops with the Ministry of Agriculture based in Saskatchewan and he echoes the significance of crop rotation in pulses.  “If you grow any o...

Farmer Lavern Johnson returns once again to share his insight with pulse crops. After 20 years of pulse crop farming, Lavern explained in episode 4 how root rot affected his ability to plant pulse crops for the next season. “As far as the root rot, the only management practice that I think I have going forwards is lengthening out the rotation.” - Lavern Johnson Research out of Canada suggests that...

Pulse crops offer some great benefits to the farmers that pursue them. Today we will talk about the market opportunities pulse crops offer especially during current uncertain times in regards to the Covid Pandemic. We also discuss the benefits offered by the nitrogen fixing bacteria to the soil associated with these crops.  Dr. Anton Bekkerman joins us from Montana State University to explain...

“It is difficult to find a chemistry that is safe on the crop, controls multiple weeds, is fairly easy to make, (and is) relatively inexpensive to make.” - Dr. Brian Jenks Creating, trialing and gaining an EPA approved label for herbicides with new mechanisms of action is an expensive, difficult process. It is unlikely we will see any new chemistries in the next year or two. Pulse growers are alre...

Mark Schmidt, a North Dakota Farmer, joins us to share the steps he is taking to improve the fertility of his pulse crops. Dr. Dave Franzen from the NDSU extension also chimes in to share what current research and recommendations are available for pulse growers.  Mark discusses his thought process in working through what crops to plant this season especially in the current global climate that...

Today we are joined by farmer Lavern Johnson and Dr Lyndon Porter, a pulse crop plant pathologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. After 20 years of experience as a pulse crop grower, Lavern Johnson brings real world issues to the forefront today by sharing why he is unable to plant pulse crops this year. Multiple organisms have accumulated in his fields over time leading to significan...

Today we discuss soil-borne and seed-borne diseases in pulse crops. We are joined by Chris Westergard a farmer in Montana, who gives us insight into what his operation looks like and how he manages these risks to his pulse crops. Then Dr. Michael Wunsch, a Plant Pathologist at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, shares some of the ongoing research and recommendations for combating these...

Meet Ryan Ellis, a farmer from North Dakota. Ryan shares how he is preparing for the upcoming season. Dr. Brian Jenks, a weed scientist from the North Dakota State University, also joins us to discuss pre-plant options to control weeds in pulse crops. Ryan Ellis farms about 5,000 acres with his father. They currently grow peas, lentils, soybeans, flax and forages. Ryan shares that growing pulse cr...