Daryl Domitruk, now a research project manager for MPSG, said pulse and soybean prospects in Manitoba have become “very interesting” due to the war in the Middle East as well as speculation over upcoming weather conditions. He added that it is difficult to determine with certainty how many acres will be planted for certain crops.

“What we’ve been seeing is that soybeans are likely to increase in Manitoba. Dry beans are likely to be down and peas are tougher (to determine). We’re expecting similar acreage (from last year) but that could change with the weather,” Domitruk said.

His assessment largely reflected that of Statistics Canada’s latest principal field crop report released earlier this month. Soybean acres in Manitoba were projected at 1.869 million acres this year, up 12.9 per cent from 2025-26. Edible bean acres were projected at 120,000, down 45.6 per cent, while dry pea acres are expected to decline by 40.5 per cent at 116,700.

For daily markets update, visit the Western Producer Markets Desk

Domitruk attributed the drops in dry bean and pea acres to the markets being well-supplied, which resulted in prices going down and seeded area falling.

With shipments of fertilizer and urea being held up due to the war in Iran, farmers may be inclined to grow soybeans and other crops with low fertilizer needs. Domitruk said there is already additional interest from growers.

“That is the only thing that may accelerate bean or soybean acres than what’s already being projected,” he added. “But we need to pay close attention to crop rotations in Manitoba.”

He added that the amount of snow received in central and southern Manitoba this winter could provide the moisture necessary for good growing conditions. However, pulse planting is still restricted to specific windows of time.

“That window only works if seeding for wheat and canola go according to plan,” Domitruk said.

“It’s really difficult when you have so many different factors in play this year between markets, world events, weather and prices for inputs. Weather-wise, we can only assume things will be OK. Of course, it’s not in our hands and we can just see what we get,” he added.

The post Pulse Weekly: War, weather affecting Manitoba pulse prospects appeared first on Grainews.

That would be in addition to the planted area recently projected by Statistics Canada, as nitrogen-based fertilizers have seen price hikes of 30 per cent since the start of the current Middle East war. Vessels transiting the narrow Strait of Hormuz to and from the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf have come to a stop, which threatens global supplies.

On Feb. 27, nearby urea futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were nearly US$442 per tonne and then jumped to US$590 by March 3. Since then, urea has fluctuated with crude oil prices, closing on March 9 at US$585/tonne.

Pulses add nitrogen

Risula said in a March 10 interview that switching to pulses would make sense due to the nitrogen benefits they provide.

“But it may not be as much as one might think because there are other aspects that could influence farmers’ decisions,” he added.

He said farmers’ crop rotations would be a major consideration as well as concerns over root rot, which has been a problem for pulse crops in Saskatchewan.

Of the choices for additional pulse acres, Risula said the most likely would be lentils. Another selection he said farmers would consider is chickpeas.

“They’re growing it away from the area it was intended for, which was the drier part of southwest Saskatchewan,” he said, noting there are more chickpea varieties available.

StatCan recently forecast a 13.3 per cent increase of planted chickpea acres in Saskatchewan for 2026/27 at 559,100.

Phosphorus issues

As for lentils and peas, Risula cautioned these pulses require good phosphorus levels, which is currently a problem in the province.

“Generally, our soils have been running down in phosphorus levels,” which he said are cyclical.

That would also mean farmers would have to consider the costs to applying phosphorus where levels are lower than normal and its availability. While urea process have risen significantly, those for phosphorous are up only five per cent.

StatCan planted and forecast pulse acres in Saskatchewan

Pulse 2025/26 2026/27

Lentils 3,808,600 3,643,900

Dry Peas 1,773,000 1,479,300

Chickpeas 493,400 559,100

Faba Beans 15,300 29,800

Dry Beans 8,600 n/a

– With files from Sean Pratt, Glacier FarmMedia

The post Pulse Weekly: More Saskatchewan pulse acres very likely in 2026/27 appeared first on Grainews.

Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. in Winnipeg said large carryouts and lower prices over the past year will likely mean fewer pulse acres this spring.

“Like for all commodities, prices are down quite a bit. So your return-per-acre calculation will change very significantly,” Boersch said. “On top of that, for both lentils and peas, you will have some very significant carryout.”

Seeded lentil acres were estimated at 4.138 million tonnes, down 5.5 per cent from last year. The total would be the least amount of acres in three years and the second-least since 2020. One reason for the decline would be the 2025-26 carryout of 1.695 million tonnes, more than three times larger than the previous year’s.

Dry pea acres were also set to be lower, dropping by 12.3 per cent at 3.078 million acres. The figure was also the lowest in three years and the second-lowest since 2012. Dry pea plantings will decline in all three Prairie provinces, most notably Saskatchewan where it will lose 16.6 per cent for a total of 1.479 million. The 2025-26 carryout for dry peas was 1.31 million tonnes, nearly triple from the previous year.

The amount of edible bean acres is projected to decline by 30.7 per cent at 295,000 acres, the smallest total since 2015 and one year after the biggest edible bean crop since 2020. Manitoba’s seeded area was estimated at 120,000 tonnes this year, down 44.7 per cent from 2025.

StatCan estimated faba beans acres this spring to total 55,900, 18.8 per cent lower than in 2025 and the fewest acres since 2016. It would also mark the fourth straight time faba bean acres in Canada declined year-by-year.

Chickpeas were the only pulse to buck the trend. Canadians are expected to use 6.3 per cent more land than last year to grow the crop at 575,000 acres. It would be the fifth straight yearly increase for chickpeas and its largest seeded area since 2001. This is despite 2026 ending stocks for chickpeas having more than quadrupled from the year before at 275,000 tonnes.

The planting survey was conducted from mid-December to mid-January. However, rising fertilizer prices tied to the escalating conflict in the Middle East could shift planting intentions, said Glacier FarmMedia analyst Bruce Burnett. He said the relatively lower input costs for pulse crops compared to other options could lead to more area going to peas and lentils this spring than earlier expectations.

The post Pulse Weekly: StatCan projects fewer pea and lentil acres appeared first on Grainews.

That was one of the central messages from Michael Wunsch, a plant pathologist with North Dakota State University, speaking at CropConnect 2026 in Winnipeg in February.

Fungicides do not protect future growth. They only protect the canopy that exists at the time of application.

“When you spray, you’re protecting the canopy that’s there,” Wunsch said.

“All that new growth is unprotected.”

That biological reality has implications for fungicide timing, especially if more than one pass is planned.

Bloom stage isn’t the whole story

White mould develops when small, mushroom-like structures form beneath the canopy in moist soil. Wunsch said growers need five to seven days of sustained soil moisture in the top inch of soil as crops enter bloom to produce spores.

Infection occurs through senescing blossoms. Once a blossom dies and forms a small pin-shaped pod, the plant becomes susceptible.

“The per cent of plants with pin-shaped pods is the per cent of plants in a susceptible state,” he said.

Because of that, he uses the percentage of plants with initial pin pods as a guide for fungicide timing.

However, timing isn’t just about bloom stage. Growers also need to think through their season-long plan.

“When you spray should be determined by the number of applications you plan to make,” Wunsch said.

One pass: wait for more canopy

In black and pinto bean trials conducted under high disease pressure, Wunsch’s team tested different timings based on the percentage of plants with pin pods.

When only one fungicide application was made, early applications performed poorly. Spraying at first bloom or before significant pin pod development protected only a small portion of the canopy.

During early bloom, beans are growing rapidly. Within days of an application, plants can be significantly taller and wider. That new biomass is not protected.

If only one application is planned, Wunsch said growers should generally wait until a high percentage of plants have initial pin pods — often 60 to 100 per cent — before spraying, assuming conditions favour disease.

Applying too early sacrifices protection during the period of maximum susceptibility, when the canopy is full and moisture is trapped within it.

Two passes: move earlier

The logic shifts when a second application is planned.

With a two-pass program in dry beans, Wunsch found the first spray often performed best when applied at roughly 30 to 50 per cent pin pod and sometimes as low as 10 per cent under higher-risk situations.

The reason is that the second application protects the new growth that develops after the first spray.

“You don’t want to sacrifice those early infections,” he said.

In this case, the grower is no longer choosing between early and late protection. The second pass covers the expanding canopy.

However, there is still a penalty for going too late.

“Applications must be made prior to pathogen infection,” Wunsch said, adding that once the pathogen has invaded the plant, fungicides cannot eradicate it.

Three passes under high pressure

In high-pressure pinto and kidney bean environments, particularly under sustained cool and wet conditions, Wunsch’s trials showed that three applications — often seven to 10 days apart — provided the most consistent control. Under those conditions, the first application was made earlier, at first bloom, before significant pin pod development.

Subsequent applications protected new growth, and shorter intervals improved consistency under elevated disease pressure.

Even so, three passes did not eliminate the disease.

Soybeans follow the same rules

Although white mould in soybeans is more sporadic on the Prairies than in dry beans, Wunsch said the same principles apply. He recommended that a single application be made when 100 per cent of plants reach the R2 growth stage unless canopy closure occurs earlier. In that case, application should coincide with canopy closure.

As in dry beans, the decision depends on risk. If conditions do not favour white mould as the crop enters bloom, he advised waiting until they do.

Practical field scouting

Wunsch offered a simple method to assess pin pod development.

Walk into areas of the field where white mould risk is highest. Examine 10 consecutive plants in a row and count how many have pin pods. Repeat that in at least 10 locations across the field.

That percentage provides a practical indicator of crop susceptibility and can guide timing decisions.

He also urged growers to pay attention to droplet size when applying fungicides, saying it can “make a world of difference” in efficacy.

However, even with precise timing, optimized droplet size and multiple applications under high pressure, white mould was never entirely suppressed in his trials, indicating the resilience of the pathogen under current management practices.

“White mould control isn’t that good,” said Wunsch.

The post White mould control requires flexible timing under Prairie conditions appeared first on Grainews.

WHY IT MATTERS: More than 80 per cent of pulses exported from Canada to India are grown in Saskatchewan.

The Canada-India Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence would be built at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management in Kundli, 40 kilometres north of New Delhi, said the Saskatchewan government in a March 3 news release.

The proposed centre would focus on the advancement of pulse protein processing and the development of fortified foods. It would also strengthen the relationship and support economic growth between the two countries, as well as improve global nutrition, reduce environmental impacts and advance sustainable agriculture.

Both the U of S and NIFTEM were named by their respective federal governments to be the co-chairs of the facility.

“The University of Saskatchewan has a strong history of developing agricultural innovations that have real world impact,” said Baljit Singh, the U of S’s research vice-president.

“We are committed to addressing the global demand for plant-based proteins and applying our world-class researchers, labs and infrastructure to address these needs. We look forward to working alongside our partners in India and the Government of Saskatchewan to create sustainable solutions.”

The pulse protein centre was announced during a trade mission to India by Canadian officials, including Canadian prime minister Mark Carney and Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe.

“Our province is essential for global food security,” Moe said.

“This announcement represents an opportunity to bring Saskatchewan’s expertise and ingenuity in pulse production to the people of India. By working together, we will accelerate innovation, expand processing capabilities, and help meet growing demand for affordable, high quality, sustainably grown foods.”

More than 80 per cent of all pulses exported from Canada to India are grown in Saskatchewan, primarily lentils, chickpeas and yellow peas.

“The Centre of Excellence underscores the long-term partnership between Saskatchewan and India in pulses,” Saskatchewan Pulse (SaskPulse) Growers chair Stuart Lawrence said.

“This collaboration between academia and government can help ensure more pulses are included in large-scale food applications and enhance the role pulses play in delivering nutritional security for the benefit of Indian consumers and Saskatchewan farmers.”

Saskatchewan has exported more than $18 billion worth of goods to India since 2007. The province opened a trade and investment office in New Delhi in 2021, one of nine worldwide.

The post Canada, India team up on new pulse protein centre appeared first on Grainews.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced Feb. 19 that the USDA intended to purchase up to $263 million in dairy and agricultural products from U.S. farmers and producers to distribute to food banks and nutrition assistance programs across the country.

“From milk and dairy to fruits, legumes, and tree nuts, these staples are essential for feeding families and sustaining America’s agricultural economy,” said Rollins.

Pulses make up US$75 million of that total, with US$25 million allocated for edible beans, US$24 million for split peas, US$14 million for lentils and US$12 million for chickpeas. The remainder of the funds are slated for dairy, fresh fruit and nuts.

The purchases will be made through USDA’s authority under Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935 with the stated goal of assisting producers and communities in need.

USA Pulses welcomed the move, with CEO Tim McGreevy noting in a Global Pulses report that the announcement provides “meaningful support for American pulse producers while helping deliver nutritious, affordable food to families across the country.”

He added that investment recognizes “the essential role pulses play in both uplifting rural and agricultural communities and promoting food security,” and noted the purchases will help “stabilize farm income, strengthen rural economies, and ensure food banks and nutrition assistance programs have access to shelf-stable, protein-rich foods.”

The post Pulse weekly: USDA to buy US$75 million in pulses as part of support package appeared first on Grainews.

In Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s principal field crop estimates released last month, the projected dry bean carryout was 95,000 tonnes, compared to 40,000 the year before.

A grain marketer from southern Manitoba said he has seen pintos, black beans and navy beans have recently declined in price to the mid-30 cent per pound range. Meanwhile, kidney beans are in the low-60s.

Prairie Ag Hotwire reported a monthly drop of more than one cent and a yearly drop of more than 30 cents for navy and black beans at 27.5 and 26.5 cents delivered as of Feb. 10. Kidney beans saw the largest monthly increases at four cents for the dark variety and 7.2 cents for light, but yearly drops were down 22.8 and 9.5 cents, respectively, at 55.3 and 57 cents.

Solid pricing over the last five years resulted in additional acres for dry beans, said the marketer. However, this also resulted in additional stocks which eventually pressured prices.

“Last season, because the other commodities were less attractive, the edibles were in the 40s. That drew a large crop,” he said. “And then with all the precipitation in North Dakota, Mexico and Manitoba, they had decent crops and overproduction over the last two seasons.”

Nevertheless, demand remains strong for dry edible beans due to their relatively high protein content, but ending stocks will still be large. For 2026-27, AAFC estimated a carryout of 80,000 tonnes.

“Movement is strong, but there will still be a carryover. New crop is not that attractive in the mid-30s. But because edible beans are such a small crop, any weather trouble in North Dakota, Mexico, Michigan and Ontario, prices could spring back up.”

While 205,000 acres of edible beans were seeded in Manitoba last year, said the marketer, he expects between 130,000 to 140,000 acres this spring. AAFC projected 370,658 acres nationwide for 2026-27, down from 425,051 the previous year.

Nevertheless, the marketer said he thinks dry edible bean prices are at their low point and have plenty of upside in the coming months.

“It’s kind of the bottom of the market because we still have beans to move out of the province. I would think if we had a regular crop and there wasn’t any shortage, (these are the numbers) they would trade at,” he added.

Cranberry beans gained 5.8 cents over the past month, but lost 11.5 cents this year at 36 cents delivered. Great Northern beans dipped 0.3 cents over the past month while losing 23.3 cents this year at a price of 28.8 cents. Small red beans are at 47 cents delivered after a monthly increase of 2.3 cents and a yearly decrease of 23.5 cents.

The post Pulse Weekly: Low prices for edible beans worsen growth prospects appeared first on Grainews.

Peas

• Canada exported 155,841 tonnes of peas in November, which was down by 44 per cent from October. Crop year-to-date pea exports of just over one million tonnes compares with 1.266 million at the same point in 2024/25.
• Bangladesh was the largest destination for peas in November, but India remains the top customer for the year at 416,405 tonnes through four months.
• Yellow peas account for 87 per cent of the total pea exports.
• Crop year-to-date pea exports to China of 90,454 tonnes are down 73 per cent on the year, as Chinese tariffs limited movement earlier in the marketing year. Expectations are for exports to China to pick up in March when tariffs are lifted.

Lentils

• Canadian lentil exports in November of 184,070 tonnes were down 37 per cent from the previous month, with crop year-to-date exports of 775,370 tonnes down 6.6 per cent from the same point the previous year.
• The United Arab Emirates was the largest lentil destination in November, taking 41,636 tonnes, but India remains the top importer of Canadian lentils on the year at 232,112 tonnes through four months.

Chickpeas

• Canada exported 28,338 tonnes of chickpeas in November, up by about 10,000 tonnes from the previous month. Crop-year-to-date chickpea exports of 73,877 tonnes were 39 per cent above the previous year.
• The United States was the largest destination for chickpeas through four months, accounting for 21.5 per cent of the total. Pakistan, Turkey, Italy and Israel round out the top five.

Edible beans

• Canada has exported 79,778 tonnes of dry edible beans through November, with roughly half of that headed to the United States. Year-to-date 2025/26 edible bean exports are up 8.3 per cent from the same point the previous year.
• Edible bean exports in November of 26,356 tonnes were up 6.5 per cent from October.

The post Pulse weekly: Canadian pea/lentil exports slow to start 2025/26 appeared first on Grainews.

Why it matters: U.S. pulses compete with Canadian crops on the international export market.

Peas

• · Dry edible pea production was estimated at 838,400 tonnes in the January report, which was down by nearly 100,000 tonnes from the December estimate but still up from the 772,400 tonnes grown in 2024.
• · Average U.S. pea yields were lowered to 1.95 tonnes per hectare from 2.03 T/ha in December, while harvested pea area was down six per cent from the previous month at 430,190 hectares.
• · Green peas are currently trading as high as US$9.60 per bushel (C$13.28) in North Dakota with yellow peas topping out at US$6.25 (C$8.65), according to Prairie Ag Hotwire data.

Lentils

• · Average U.S. lentil yields were raised to 1.25 T/ha, from 1.18 T/ha in December. However, production was revised lower due to a 10 per cent drop in harvested area.
• · Total U.S. lentil production for 2025 is now estimated at 478,860 tonnes. That compares with the December estimate of 502,720 tonnes and the year-ago level of 410,460 tonnes.

Chickpea

• · Chickpea production, at 310,440 tonnes, was down from the previous estimate of 337,020 tonnes, but up by 20 per cent from 2024.
• · Average U.S. chickpea yields of 1.47 T/ha compare with 1.29 T/ha in 2024.

Edible beans

• · U.S. farmers grew 1.218 million tonnes of edible beans in 2025, according to the USDA. That was down from 1.420 million tonnes in the previous year and the December estimate of 1.363 million tonnes.

The post Pulse weekly: U.S. pulse production below early expectations appeared first on Grainews.

Speaking at a July 29 field day in Carman, Man., research agronomist Kristen MacMillan said she’s in the final year of a study examining how much nitrogen dry beans can fix from the atmosphere through nodulation and whether lower fertilizer rates could be viable for Prairie conditions.

“We’re still waiting for the final results of this study, but almost 50-per-cent reduction in the nitrogen rate would have really important economic benefits for farmers,” said MacMillan.

That finding could come at an ideal time. Manitoba farmers planted a record 207,000 acres of dry beans in 2025 — including a record-high 123,000 acres of pintos — the highest dry bean acreage in two decades.

Dry beans are in the same legume family as peas and soybeans, well known for fixing their own nitrogen out of the atmosphere. Dry beans, though, are worse at it.

“The main reason is that it’s non-selective as a host, so it’s fairly promiscuous with the rhizobia in the soil, and that reduces its efficiency in fixing nitrogen,” said MacMillan.

That reputation has led to full fertilizer programs as standard practice. But MacMillan’s current trials aim to test whether modern cultivars — grown in Manitoba soils that have seen decades of pulse production — might be capable of fixing more nitrogen than previously thought.

Two earlier studies that MacMillan worked on showed that dry beans did respond to fertilizer, but not at economically optimal levels. MacMillan’s earlier work also looked at inoculants, which varied by product.

‘Lazy’ plants

A summary of dry bean nitrogen and nodulation on-farm trials from the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean growers said that yield increased in small plot pinto and navy beans at high nitrogen rates of 140 pounds per acre.

“When considering the return on investment, it was statistically the same for all rates of N application, meaning the economic optimum rate was to not apply any N fertilizer at all,” the summary noted.

It also cited black and pinto bean trials at Brandon, Melita and Carberry from 2021-2022, which found no yield change with different fertilizer rates, with the exception of uninoculated black beans in Melita in 2022.

The same resource noted that fertilizer had an inverse relationship with nodulation. The more fertilizer they put on, the less nodulation they saw.

Plants “become ‘lazy’ and rely on soil nitrogen alone,” the grower group said.

The focus of MacMillan’s current research is to show how much atmospheric nitrogen dry beans are fixing under Manitoba conditions, and whether that amount changes depending on nitrogen rate and inoculation.

One set of plots is measuring nitrogen fixation across 12 popular dry bean cultivars using a method called “natural abundance,” which tracks nitrogen isotopes. A second trial is testing nitrogen fixation under different fertilizer rates, with or without inoculant.

“The hypothesis that’s being tested is whether we can move from a full rate of N fertilizer down to a low rate and still maximize yield,” she said.

Dry beans in Manitoba typically yield around 2,000 pounds per acre, which translates to about 90 pounds of nitrogen. MacMillan said literature suggests N fixation could provide up to 20 to 40 per cent of that requirement — a meaningful contribution, especially when combined with residual nitrogen already in the soil.

In addition to saving farmers money, less nitrogen applied means less nitrous oxide — a heavily-scrutinized greenhouse gas — is released into the atmosphere.

“Environmentally, this could lead to less nitrogen-intensive cropping systems when it comes to growing dry beans,” she said.

The post Lower nitrogen rates in dry beans could pay off for farmers appeared first on Grainews.