World Pulses Day: celebrating hardy food

If Esau of biblical fame could have predicted the lasting worldwide appeal of pulses, he might not have regretted trading off his birthright to his brother, Jacob, for a bowl of lentil stew. (See Genesis 25: 29-34.)

Today pulses, which include lentils, chickpeas, dried peas and beans, are one of the most sustainable foods on the market, feeding the world’s growing population and contributing to environmental well-being. The General Assembly of the United Nations has designated Feb. 10 as World Pulses Day to recognize the importance of pulse crops for their contributions to human and planetary health. In 2016 the UN launched the International Year of Pulses to raise awareness of the benefits of pulses to people and the planet.

“Peas, lentils and chickpeas are really important to the cropping system,” said Tim McGreevy, chief executive officer of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, in Moscow.

“Pulses are really a drought-tolerant crop and fix their own nitrogen in the soil,” he said. “... Given the tendency toward drier weather over the past five years, that’s really huge.”

Among the many attributes of pulse crops is their ability to thrive with a small amount of fertilizer and adaptability to semi-arid conditions and drought stress. Pulses are inexpensive, easy to store, highly nutritious, and their ability to enhance the soil microbiome has been key in improving farming techniques in low-income rural areas.

Pulses have long been grown in this area — once known as the Pea and Lentil Capital of the World — as an important rotational crop. McGreevy said pulse production in the Pacific Northwest has remained steady. Chickpea production, because of the growing popularity of Mediterranean dishes such as hummus, has become even more popular with local farmers and prices for those products are strong.

“We’re still the national and international headquarters for peas, lentils and chickpea research and marketing,” McGreevy said. “But the larger production area now is in Montana and North Dakota, in terms of really large acreages. Our acres have stayed about the same because it’s been in our rotation for a long time. But other areas are entering into crop diversity and finding out that this is a really good crop to grow, especially right before a wheat crop.”

Last year’s harvest of pulses in this region were “close to average,” McGreevy said, owing to the dry conditions of late spring and summer.

“Because of that really hot spell during flowering,” he said. “If you planted early you did fairly well but if you planted after mid-May, which is typical, (the crop) was pretty much below average.”

The outcome may be similar this year if the snow and early rains don’t occur as usual. If that’s the case, lentils may prove to be more valuable than ever.

“If it’s a dry year, it hurts everybody,” McGreevy said. “But lentils are still a very drought-tolerant crop, so they can survive better as a spring crop than others.

“Obviously we’re hoping we’re going to have timely rains. It’s been a really open winter, so we’re concerned. It’s been dry in North Dakota — just all across the country. It’s been concerning that this is our new reality.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.