Why Grow Pulses
Whether you’ve never grown pulses or haven’t grown them in a while, we’ve got many good reasons why you should think about growing pulses.
- Pulses reduce input costs. Pulses fix their own nitrogen, so there’s no need for the added cost of nitrogen for your crop.
- Pulses spread your workload. The growing season for pulse crops differs somewhat from that of other crops, in some cases allowing you to seed and harvest earlier or later than other crops.
- Pulses give you diversified marketing options. You can grow pulses for export or domestic use for the human consumption, animal feed, or fractionation markets.
- Including a variety of crops in a rotation is beneficial to farm profitability. Pulses in rotation with cereals and oilseeds help to maximize return in investment.
- Because pulse crops fix nitrogen, they also leave residual nitrogen in the soil. Studies show higher yields in canola and cereals when planted in the year after a pulse.
- Pulses grow in a variety of production systems. You have many options when it comes to growing pulses, as they can be seeded with a variety of equipment.
- Pulses are profitable. Prices for pulse crops are very competitive with other crop types, and reduced input costs help contribute to a healthy bottom line.
- Pulses improve your soil tilth. Pulses make your soil healthier by putting nutrients, including nitrogen, back into the soil.
- Pulses promote soil conservation and sustainable farming practices. Crops like pulses that fix nitrogen can help reduce CO2 emissions from agriculture, and because of their water use efficiency and ability to grow in zero till systems, pulses may have a lower environmental footprint than other crop types.
- Pulse acres in Alberta are consistently around two million acres. Pulses like faba bean and lupin are up-and-coming crop types with plenty of room to grow.