Chocolate chip cookie dough made with chickpea flour. Pulse starches are being explored for use in batters, breading, pastas and various snack foods.

Starch market search yields results for pulses

Food scientists look to improve pulse crops’ value proposition beyond their proteins

Glacier FarmMedia — Protein is normally the focus of pulse production, but research shows value can also be gained from the starch byproduct. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are seeking new uses for pulse starches in the food and biomaterial sectors. Byproduct market research aims to reduce food waste, increase efficiency and add more […] Read more


Caphorn 2024 is a new yellow pea variety from Valesco Genetics that offers higher than average protein content and larger than average seed size.

New pulses pending for 2025

More pea and lentil options are on deck for Prairie producers

Western Canadian farmers have more pulses to choose from next year. There are seven new pea varieties from Canterra Seeds, FP Genetics, Pitura Seeds and Valesco Genetics, plus two new lentil varieties from Canterra. Here’s a rundown on the new pulse offerings for 2025. Canterra Seeds AAC Beyond is an early-maturity yellow pea variety with […] Read more

Alberta crop commissions name leadership

Alberta crop commissions name leadership

Cereal, canola, pulse organizations welcome new board members

Meeting season on the Prairies brings new leadership to Alberta’s merged wheat and barley commissions, along with new board members for the province’s canola and pulse groups. Alberta Grains on Jan. 31 announced Tara Sawyer, who farms near Acme, as the chair for its inaugural board of directors. Sawyer previously served as Alberta Barley’s chair, […] Read more


These barley plants show signs of the damage potassium deficiency can cause.

Are your fields potassium deficient?

Cases of potassium-deficient soils are on the rise. It could mean a hit to your bottom line

Most farmers know the importance of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil and the vital role their presence plays in crop development. But what about potassium? Potassium (K) is critically important in helping provide water balance within a plant. The only way a plant can move sugar and nutrients is by moving […] Read more

AAC Planet is a new yellow pea from SeedNet with high yields, good standability and good resistance to seed coat breakage.

Pulse crop varieties for 2024

New pea and faba bean options for Prairie farmers

Pulse producers in Western Canada have some new crops to choose from for the 2024 season. Here are seven new pea and faba bean offerings from Prairie Fava, SeCan, SeedNet, Stamp Seeds and Valesco Genetics. Prairie Fava Allison is a coloured, flower-type faba bean from DL Seeds with excellent processing characteristics. This earlier maturity variety […] Read more


Rainfall relieves some dry areas of Sask., but more needed for crops to fill out

Rainfall relieves some dry areas of Sask., but more needed for crops to fill out

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending July 13

Livestock producers now have 32 per cent of the hay crop cut and 38 per cent baled or put into silage, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Hay quality is rated as four per cent excellent, 48 per cent good, 34 per cent fair and 14 per cent poor. Concerns about a potential hay […] Read more

fababean crop

Fababeans: our next Cinderella crop

A nitrogen-fixing legume that doesn’t have us competing with U.S. farmers could be an opportunity

Before you start — the headline is a bit of a stretch at this point but hopefully you will read on to learn more. The first department head of the newly constituted Soil Science Department, University of Saskatchewan (1919) was Roy Hanson, a soil microbiologist. His first observation was “we need to grow legume crops […] Read more


lentil plants

How to harvest pulse crops

If you’re new to pulses or want a refresher, here are four harvest factors


With pulse crops, a successful harvest starts not long after seed goes into the ground, says Dale Risula, provincial crop specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Knowing when to use land rollers, choosing a desiccant and knowing the best ways to harvest and store the crops are all key to succeeding with pulses. 1. […] Read more

Lentils with blight can be misdiagnosed

Stemphylium blight is turning up in more and more seed lab tests, but 
is often misdiagnosed when it’s found out in the field

Stemphylium blight, caused by the fungal pathogen Stemphylium botryosum, is a lentil disease that has only been identified as a problem in recent years. But according to Sabine Banniza, a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, this may be due to misdiagnosis in the past. “There isn’t really very solid data out there, partly because […] Read more