If you’ve never grown pulses or haven’t in a while, here are some great reasons to consider adding them to your rotation.
Lower Input Costs
Pulses naturally fix their own nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and lowering your overall production costs.
Better Workload Management
With a different growing season than many other crops, pulses can be seeded and harvested earlier or later, helping you manage your workload more efficiently.
Diverse Marketing Opportunities
Pulses offer flexible market options—they can be grown for export or domestic use in human food, animal feed, or fractionation markets, giving you more ways to sell your crop.
Stronger Crop Rotation and Higher Yields
Integrating pulses into your rotation with cereals and oilseeds helps maximize your return on investment. Plus, pulses leave behind residual nitrogen in the soil, leading to higher yields in following crops like canola and wheat.
Versatile Production Systems
Pulses are adaptable to various production systems making them a flexible option for many farms.
Strong Profit Potential
With competitive market prices and reduced input costs, pulses contribute to a more profitable operation.
Healthier Soil and Sustainability
Pulses improve soil structure and fertility by returning key nutrients, including nitrogen, to the soil. They also promote soil conservation, reduce CO₂ emissions, and have a lower environmental footprint due to their water-use efficiency and compatibility with zero-till systems.
A Growing Industry with Future Potential
With around two million acres of pulses grown annually in Alberta, demand remains strong. Emerging crops like faba beans and lupins provide even more opportunities for expansion.
Adding pulses to your farm benefits your soil, your profitability, and the environment—making them a smart, sustainable choice.
Find all you need to know about growing pulses; from the various pulse types to grow, growing zones, research and SR&ED Tax Credit:
Explore the different pulse crops grown in Alberta and their benefits.
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Find out which pulse crops thrive in your region with our zone-specific insights.
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Find research on pulse production, sustainability, and market trends.
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See a list of trusted pulse buyers and sellers for pulse trading.
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Access market information for buying and selling pulses. Also learn how pulse growers can benefit from the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit.
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