Pulse Crop Initiatives Part 2

Pulse Crop Initiatives Part 2

Pulse Crop Initiatives Part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture.

Idaho's Senator Mike Crapo and Washington's Maria Cantwell have been working hard for farmers in the northwest with several different initiatives. One directed at trade for apples and pears and a pair of initiatives directed at Pulse crops. Pulse crops are things like dried peas, lentils and chickpeas. Interestingly a product made from chickpeas is getting a lot more notoriety these days. Hummus.

CRAPO: And actually that is not entirely by accident. It's a part of the promotion of pulse crops as a very healthy, dietary food. And as more people understand how healthy they are more people are turning to look at ways to use them and the of course that immediately gives an opportunity for the increased utilization of hummus which is a very popular product in the United States.

Senator Crapo says that there is a good chance that they can get these two initiatives put into the farm bill even at this late date.

CRAPO: Frankly if the negotiators break down and just put a bare bones farm bill together then we'll keep pushing and one way or the other we will continue to promote both the school food program as well as the Pulse Health Initiative.

The Palouse Region, which encompasses parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho, is one of the primary growing locations for pulse crops in the United States.  In recent years, Idaho has been the fourth largest pulse crop producer by acreage, and accounts for approximately 11 percent of total U.S. output. Washington state is the top chickpea producer in the nation and third in the nation for pea and lentil production.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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