No Till Notes: 'Opportunity'

As most of you are probably aware, I’m pretty excited about the opportunities yellow field peas provide for producers here in western Nebraska and around our region. We have been growing yellow field peas successfully on our farm for several years now and I’m convinced the field peas will prove to be a profitable crop for producers in this area. The best opportunities for field peas are in our dry land cropping systems and limited irrigation crop rotations.

There are many agronomic benefits to including a legume in our cropping rotations. Adding a legume will help break up persistent weed and disease problems created by all grass crop rotations. Legumes are also beneficial to the soil by producing their own nitrogen requirements and altering the soil microbial populations and diversity.

The development of a stable marketplace has been provided by Stateline Producers agreeing to become a processor for our field peas. Stateline Producers willingness to invest in the field peas has provided the opportunity for producers to market their field peas at profitable levels into the human marketplace. Stateline Producers is working hard at adding value to the field peas by looking to invest in a field pea splitter and working with companies that make high protein flour out of the field peas.

Stateline Producers is having meetings around our area to inform producers about the growing and marketing of field peas. I would encourage everyone involved in dry land crop production or who may have limited irrigation to attend these meetings to learn more about field pea production and marketing. As of now I don’t have all the times or places of these meetings but feel free to call Courtney Schuler at Stateline Producers (308-436-2186) or myself (308-760-5259) to learn more about the meeting in your area.

The grower meetings are scheduled for January and February 2014. Meetings will be held in the Mirage Flats, area south of Hay Springs, Nebraska on Jan. 16 at Saint Peters Lutheran Church starting at 9:30 a.m. The following day a meeting will be held in Martin, S.D. on Jan, 17. The next meeting will be held in Sidney on Jan. 21 at the Western Nebraska Community College Campus beginning at 9:30 a.m. Meetings will also be held in Ogallala and Gothenburg, Neb., Jan. 23, and Holdrege, Neb., Jan. 24.

February meetings are scheduled for Gering on February 10, Kimball Feb. 11, Alliance on Feb. 18, Morrill/Mitchell on Feb. 20 and Torrington, Feb. 25.

If we’ve missed an area you would like to see a grower meeting scheduled in please contact Courtney at Stateline Producers. I hope to see you at these meetings. I really believe field peas have a home here in western Nebraska and the surrounding region in our cropping rotations.