Farmers weigh pea alternatives

By FRED OWEN

For the Capital Press

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- When Twin City Foods announced last fall that it would not process green peas at its Stanwood, Wash., plant in 2010, Northwest Washington farmers had a 6,000-acre hole to fill.

More than 70 crop and dairy farmers gathered Jan. 8 at Washington State University's Research Center to discuss possible replacement crops.

Twin City Foods has left open the possibility of buying peas again in 2011, but that is "up in the air," said Don Heitmann, Twin City Foods corporate personnel manager. The Stanwood plant, with over 200 employees, will continue to re-package frozen vegetables.

Wheat and barley are already used as rotation crops, and some farmers will plant more. But crop farmer David Hedlin said there is a limit to that.

"In a wet year, if we grow too much wheat, we won't have enough grain dryers to handle a bigger crop," he said.

Joe Harrison, WSU Extension agent from Puyallup, recommended grass and corn as forage crops.

He explained their comparative value. Corn is easier to harvest in wet weather, it's only harvested once a year and peas could be planted again the following year.

Clair Coyne of the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Pullman explained the merits of new crops such as fava beans and mangels. Fava beans are a legume with a variety of uses for cattle and poultry. Mangels are a forage crop, but rarely used in recent years. Both crops are promising alternatives to peas, she said.

Grass for green chop or pasture is a "no turning back" choice because it takes a multiple-year commitment. Planting grass often entails an agreement with a dairy farmer who will buy it.

Currently, Northwest Washington dairy farmers buy alfalfa trucked over the mountains from the east. An increase in local sources of feed would be helpful, said organic dairy farmer Alan Mesman, and the price might be lower. If the price of diesel goes up, trucking alfalfa will get more expensive.

Red potatoes, tulips and seed crops remain the most profitable crops in Northwest Washington, but crop rotation is essential for good yields and reduction of insect pests. With peas out of the picture, farmers have some decisions to make about what to plant in their place this spring.