6-11 FB Chickpea Planting

 Idaho farmers have planted more pea and lentil acres this year than they did in 2011. The price for chickpeas has been strong over the last couple of years so Idaho farmers have planted over 55% more acres than last year which is more than Idaho farmers have ever planted. All of that said, the question is  how do you put this all in perspective.  Is it that there is a new market for peas and beans that has just sprouted, no pun intended, or is it a reflection of what happened in years past?John Dean who is a small farmer but also owns Idaho Seed Bean company gives us  his take: “in talking to farmers writing contracts and getting my crops out, I knew that the pea acreage at least was up this year but it had been down quite a bit last year. Being acres our way up this year for dry beans but it is a recovery from years of declining acreage and last year was particularly bad on dried beans and peas.”