Growing Popularity of Chickpeas

One of the Pacific Northwest wheat rotational crops, chick peas has been growing in its popularity as an alternative crop around the country most recently to replace tobacco in Virginia. Here they make a very effective rotational crop as US Pea and Lentil Council Director of Information and Research Todd Scholz explains

Scholz: “It is a nice rotation crop. It provides nitrogen for the wheat crop. They are lucrative, they are generally producing money in a rotation, in a system and that is a pretty good deal.”

Chick pea acreage has increased in the Pacific Northwest over the last decade says Scholz. Despite more acres chickpea prices remain strong due to the increasing popularity of hummus, a traditional Middle Eastern spread made of pureed chickpeas.
Scholz: “In the last five years, we’ve gone from maybe 10,000 to 12,000 acres of chickpeas to almost 70,000. In the last five to 10 years, chickpeas have emerged. Prices are very nice and the return is very good. We’ve been very lucky in the last two to three years. There has been an interest in chick peas and it is all because of hummus, honestly.”