Renewed Interest in Faba Beans Prompts Industry Meeting

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

As a crop, faba beans are looking more attractive than ever for the moist zones of the eastern side of the province, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) Provincial Specialized Crops Specialist Ray McVicar.

“This is why an industry development meeting will be held in Canora on March 15. There have been a significant number of acres of faba beans grown in the province in the past. It is the best annual legume for fixing nitrogen, and it has very high protein levels,” McVicar explains.

The faba bean (Vicia faba minor) is an ancient small-seeded relative of the Chinese broad bean (V. faba major). The oldest seeds of Vicia faba were found in Jericho and dated at 6250 B.C. The crop is grown in the Mediterranean region where it is a common food. In Europe, the faba bean is grown primarily as a livestock feed. Britain, where both winter and spring types are grown, is the largest European producer of faba bean.

“The renewed interest here can partially be attributed to the high cost of nitrogen fertilizer,” says McVicar. “Growers and researchers are increasingly looking to crops that are able to fix much of their own nitrogen requirements. The use of faba beans would, therefore, reduce fertilizer costs.”

Another factor that may influence outcomes, McVicar goes on, is the development of a new potential market class for faba bean.

“The development of small-seeded and low tannin (pigment) seed varieties with high protein content boosts market potential as livestock feed. Plus, smaller seed crops translate into savings on seeding costs because there are more seeds per pound.”

The crop would effectively provide a second pulse crop, in addition to field peas, for wetter black soils, and a third pulse option for irrigated areas, concludes McVicar.

The meeting promises to be full of insight. The meeting will be held at the Canora Activity Centre, located at the golf club, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Bert Vandenberg, CDC Saskatoon, will discuss recent developments in faba bean research; Yvan Bruneau of Roy Legumex in Manitoba will give an update on the human consumption market; Pascal Leterme from the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatoon will speak about feed values of faba beans; Glenn O'Hara of Parrheim Foods of Saskatoon will talk about the potential in human markets for the processed product. Rod Fisher, a seed grower from Dauphin, Hugh Campbell, a seed grower from Qu'Appelle, Kim Stonehouse from the Canora Agri-ARM site and Terry Hogg from the Irrigation Research Centre at Outlook will comprised the growers' panel.

More information about faba beans can be obtained from the SAF website, www.agr.gov.sk.ca, under the Crops/Pulses/Production sections.

For more information, contact:

Ray McVicar
Provincial Special Crops Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-4665