With more pulse processing capacity open for business in Western Canada, and under development in Alberta, processors want to buy peas with higher protein content.  Meanwhile, growers want high yield and agronomic traits like standability and early maturity.

That puts Dr. D.J. Bing squarely in the middle. Over the past 20-plus years, his breeding program has developed and registered more than 30 pea varieties – with some newer varieties having protein content of 25% to 26%.

“We are still very active in pursuing breeding for high protein content,” said Bing, Lacombe-based Pulse Breeder with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “Some people are very keen on higher protein content, but in my view, we need to find a balance.”

In the past, Bing has identified pea germplasm with protein as high as 30%. That would certainly delight protein-hungry processors. In trying to introduce this sky-high protein into new cultivars, though, yield has typically declined because there is a strong negative association between yield and protein content.

Bing recommends the industry think in terms of grain yield and protein yield per hectare. These terms measure how much pea and protein can be produced per unit of land. He is trying to find a balance that gives both the highest grain yield and protein yield.

“If you overemphasize protein content, which is measured as the percentage of dry seed weight, you could end up with a variety having high protein content and low yield, and consequently less grain and protein yield per hectare,” Bing explained. “An ideal variety should give the most protein yield for processors and the greatest grain yield for growers.”

Bing is proud of what his team has accomplished over the past two decades. He’ll maintain a steady hand in breeding in a balanced way for yield, protein and agronomic traits. Still, he cautions, the big gains of the past could be difficult to repeat in the coming years.

“The question is: how much can we push the protein without sacrificing yield?” Bing said. “I think in a way, the more progress you make, the more you approach a wall that’s going to hold you back.”

Funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriScience Program, a federal, provincial, territorial initiative.

 

Livestock and crop producers are joining forces to tap federal funding to develop and test Beneficial Management Practices under real-world Alberta conditions.

When you think about it, every farm is a kind of laboratory for new practices. You try a new crop, you approach seeding or harvest in a different way, you tweak the way you feed and handle livestock. If the experiment works, you might try it on a bigger scale. If it doesn’t, you look at something different to meet your operational goal.

When the issues are complex, the stakes are high and society is watching, the canvas for the experiment needs to be bigger. Enter the Living Laboratories Initiative.

Living Labs is a 10-year, $185 million program announced by the federal government, intended to establish a Canada-wide network that will develop and test Beneficial Management Practices to improve farm resilience in the face of climate change and help mitigate further change.

How will Alberta participate in Living Labs? A team quarterbacked by Karin Schmid and Dr. Sheri Strydhorst has submitted a funding proposal that’s supported by Alberta Pulse Growers.

“Canadian ag producers want to be recognized as good stewards and are looking to make their operations more resilient,” said Schmid, Lead of Beef Production and Extension with Alberta Beef Producers.

Strydhorst, Agronomy Research Specialist with Alberta Wheat and Barley Commission, added: “We’d like to be active province-wide with ‘spokes’ in the Peace region, west of Edmonton and Lethbridge.”

Collaboration and integration are key

As Strydhorst explained, the team has proposed to develop and test Beneficial Management Practices in areas such as crop rotation, cropping systems, livestock feed and nutrient management.

“We will focus on producer needs and test ideas under real-life conditions,” she said. “We want to explore best practices that work for the producer in their operation, and also achieve goals such as carbon sequestration and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

To Schmid, it’s important that Alberta’s Living Labs recognizes that any change to management practices can have ripple-effects elsewhere in the farming operation. These need to be examined in an integrated fashion, considering the whole farm not just one area.

“There are possible synergies, for example, between beef production, forages and cropping systems,” she said. “One idea we have is to introduce forages into cropping systems. A second is about conversion of marginal lands into other uses. We also want look at the use of manure for fertilizer. We’re focused on what’s practical, but we’ll be working on some concepts that will be a bit different for growers.”

It’s easy enough for someone to recommend that producers change their production practices. For new ideas to be adopted, it’s important to understand how such decisions are made at the farm level. Living Labs includes a framework for taking these factors into account.

Strydhorst, who earned her PhD studying pulse crops, expects that pulse crops will be front and center as Living Labs gets rolling in Alberta.

“Pulse crops are set to expand, and they can contribute a lot environmentally,” she said. “For the producer who might be on the fence, we can measure the farm’s cost of adaptation to growing pulses versus the cost to not grow pulses. We can compare the opportunity to the risk and show data to help these growers arrive at a decision that’s right for their operation.”