04/09/07 Pulse growers propose energy payment

Farm and Ranch April 9, 2007 The USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council is proposing a Pulse Energy Conservation Incentive Payment or PECIP, be included in the 2007 Farm Bill. In testimony before a U.S. House Agriculture subcommittee last week, Idaho grower Jim Evans said that as Congress works on providing new incentives for biofuel crops it should give equal weight to providing incentives to produce pulse crops, which conserve energy resources. Evans: "Dry peas, lentils and chickpeas are legumes and they do not require the use of nitrogen in the production cycle. In fact university research showed that dry peas, lentils and chickpeas provide a 40 pound per acre nitrogen credit for the next crop in the rotation. In addition to conserving energy pulse crops also fix nitrogen in the soil which provides a significant offset to greenhouse gas emissions." Evans said PECIP would be a direct payment to growers of pulse crops. Evans: "The payment would be based on multiplying the nitrogen credit saved by planting a pulse crop, 40 pounds an acre, times the current cost of nitrogen fertilizer, 38-cents a pound. The payment would be roughly $15 an acre for pulse crops with current nitrogen prices." The USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council also wants direct and counter cyclical payments for pulses and for chickpeas to be eligible for planting on program crop acres. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Networ