North Dakota Considers Pulse Crop Center

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Dry pea production has shifted from the Pacific Northwest to the Upper Midwest, and industry officials want research money to move in the same direction.

A bill before the North Dakota Legislature would accomplish that, establishing a pulse crop breeding program at North Dakota State University in Fargo. It would become only the second program of its kind in the nation.

The only existing program to develop new varieties of dry peas, lentils and chickpeas is a federal Agricultural Research Service effort based at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

Pulse crops, which include peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas, provide about 10 percent of the world's dietary protein, according to industry estimates.

"In the last 10 years, North Dakota has become the main producing region," particularly for dry peas, said Eric Bartsch, executive director of the Northern Pulse Growers Association, which represents farmers in North Dakota and Montana. "It's fitting since production is concentrated in this region, to have a breeding program here."

Dry pea production in Washington last year was about half what it was in the late 1990s. In North Dakota, dry pea production has increased nearly tenfold, and the state now produces almost three-fourths of the nation's crop.

Kevin McPhee, a researcher with the pulse breeding program in Washington, said the shift in production has come about largely because ranchers are including peas in their cattle feed.

Velva rancher Jerry Effertz said he started feeding peas to his cows in the past year, in part because they are a high-protein feed that can be mixed with low-protein feed such as corn. Research indicates such feed improves the tenderness and taste of the beef product, he added.

For farmers, pulse crops also reduce or eliminate the need to use chemical fertilizers because they put nitrogen back in the soil. Officials say a North Dakota pulse breeding program could focus on developing varieties more suited to the region's climate.

Gov. John Hoeven, in his budget recommendation for the next two years, included a total of $470,000 for the pulse breeding program. The funding is included in legislation being considered in the state House.

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On the Net:

ARS, Pullman: http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode53-48-00-00

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) _ There was always something major missing from this self-proclaimed horse capital of the world: a major in horses.

But Monday, in an announcement organizers acknowledged was years overdue, the University of Kentucky laid the groundwork for a new equine undergraduate program that will accept its first students this fall.

Although the state's flagship university _ located in the heart of horse country _ has long offered a handful of loosely related equine courses, this is its first degree program focusing exclusively on Kentucky's top agricultural industry.

The major will be called Equine Science and Management, and different options will give students either hands-on experience that they'll need on a farm or business training necessary to balance the books.

"It is time," College of Agriculture Dean Scott Smith said. "It is the moment to do it."