• The opportunities
• The barriers

The UK pulse industry has the potential to double in size in the next five years. This could mean soil health and economic gains for farmers and the whole food supply chain.

Those are conclusions from a report prepared for the John Innes Centre by Andersons entitled The Opportunities of Growing Peas and Beans in the UK. It sets out the position of the industry and makes clear recommendations on how it can achieve its full potential.

The report’s author, Andersons’ Graham Redman, says although the pulse industry has been in decline for several years, it has many opportunities to grow, including the capture of new high-value markets (see graph below).

See also: Why treating winter beans more like wheat will boost yields

“There are short-term factors, such as changes to agricultural policy, the current price premiums on offer to growers and the forthcoming International Year of Pulses in 2016, which are all helping to give pulses a boost,” he says.

“These should be capitalised on to get benefits from more investment in research and development. There’s a need for new varieties, new management techniques and other technologies, so that the UK can grow and store peas and beans more effectively.”

The UK pulse area peaked at 319,000ha before falling to 157,000ha in 2012. A slight recovery sent the 2014 harvest to 176,000ha.

“This fall in area has reduced the incentive of organisations to invest in the sector, reducing grower interest in it further. And the public sector has not been putting in the same amount of resource as it does with other crops,” Mr Redman says.

At the same time, pulse yields appear not to have risen for 30 years and have been variable across seasons – reflecting their vulnerability to weather and lack of competitive ability.

Mr Redman maintains the current market failure can be repaired easily.

“There are some valuable markets for pulses, including supplying the fish food industry, high-value exports to Japan and continued growth in the trade of human-consumption beans to Egypt.

“The UK has a good reputation for meeting quality assurance standards and producing high-specification crops, making it a preferred supplier and a top exporter of pulses.”

The EU also imports the majority of its vegetable protein feed for livestock. Home-grown pulses might be able to supply some of this market if production increased and feed compounders were confident in securing year-round supply.

“It’s clear that we can generate enough demand for the pulse crop size to double,” Mr Redman says. “If more peas and beans are grown, there would be a feed market to supply, as well as opportunities to add value through exports and processing outlets.”

At farm level, the gross margins of pulse crops are very attractive, making them competitive compared with other combinable crops, he adds.

“That may not last, but it presents an opportunity for farmers to learn to grow what is a technically demanding crop, while making a profit.”

Simple techniques could help lift yields. In Canada, for example, bean yield increases of up to 50% were achieved by placing properly managed beehives in fields during flowering.

The latest costings show that marrowfat peas top the gross margin analysis of combinable crops with a figure of £719/ha, followed by blue peas at £714/ha and winter beans at £649/ha.

“Importantly, for nitrogen-fixing pulses the gross margin figure does not reflect the effect a crop has on following crops by raising nitrogen levels in the soil,” Mr Redman says.

“The nitrogen fertiliser saving in the following crop should be attributed to the pulse gross margin – something which is not done now.”

The benefit of nitrogen fixation

Growers are failing to take advantage of the reduced nitrogen requirement in cereal crops following pulses, warns the report.

©Mood Board/Rex Shutterstock

While accounts vary as to the amount of nitrogen left in the soil by a pulse crop, Graham Redman’s report has summarised all the research findings to come up with a saving of 60kg N/ha.

With ammonium nitrate at £264/t, this makes a 60kg/ha application worth £45.91/ha. Across the UK pulse area, this equates to £8.1m.

“Nitrogen fixation is possibly the greatest added-value benefit of legumes for farmers, but it is poorly understood and very few people can explain how to measure or manage it,” he notes.

Mr Redman recommends that work is undertaken to quantify the amount of nitrogen fixed under UK conditions, with growers given advice on how to maximise the nitrogen-fixing benefit of legumes.

“At the moment, farmers appear to put more nitrogen fertiliser on wheat crops following legumes than they do following oilseed rape.”

He suggests that clear agreement on the best way to communicate the benefits of nitrogen capture should be established, together with an update of RB209, the fertiliser manual, to include a section on how legumes add nitrogen to soils and the savings generated.

1. Global pulse markets are growing
2. Exports to Japan from the UK have increased by 250% in five years
3. Further growth expected for pea and bean exports
4. Greater UK production could support animal feed, fish food and export markets, as well as drive new product innovation
5. Profitable, sustainable crops for growers
6. Pulses fulfil greening requirements of the CAP
7. Established UK research base with capability to improve yield and quality

1. The area in production has been in decline since 2001
2. UK supply chain is fragmented
3. The true economic value, markets and benefits of production and processing have been poorly communicated
4. UK consumers remain largely unaware of the health benefits of pulses
5. Farmers have insufficient knowledge of cultivation and storage practices