The Pulse - Northern Pulse Growers Association
The Pulse - Northern Pulse Growers Association
The Pulse - Northern Pulse Growers Association
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July 2012 FEATURES<br />
President’s Message<br />
NPGA Elects New Associate Directors Team<br />
Dr. Julie Pasche Joins NDSU<br />
<strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Harvest Tips<br />
<strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Breeding<br />
A Message from Shannon Berndt, Executive Director<br />
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NORTHERN PULSE GROWERS ASSOCIATION<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> <strong>Growers</strong><br />
<strong>Association</strong> would like to<br />
thank the 2012 <strong>Pulse</strong> Tour<br />
Sponsors!<br />
Great <strong>Northern</strong> Ag<br />
Summer <strong>Pulse</strong> Tours Scheduled<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> <strong>Growers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> in conjunction with the Minot and Carrington<br />
Research Extension Centers are hosting the 2012 <strong>Pulse</strong> Tours.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se tours provide both new<br />
and seasoned producers with the<br />
latest information on pulse varieties,<br />
disease, weed and insect<br />
control, agronomic and livestock<br />
research. <strong>The</strong> tours are free of<br />
charge and open to all interested<br />
producers. A complimentary lunch<br />
will be hosted at each tour for attendees.<br />
July 12, 2012 - North Central Research Extension Center (Minot) 9:00 a.m. (CST)<br />
July 13, 2012 - Carrington Research Extension Center 9:00 a.m. (CST)<br />
Some of the featured guest speakers will be Phillip Egolf, agronomist from Sabra<br />
Dipping Company, Dr. Kevin McPhee - NDSU, Dr. Brian Jenks - NCREC, Dr. Michael<br />
Wunsch - CREC and others to get you informed.<br />
BASF - Pro CoOp - <strong>Pulse</strong><br />
USA - Syngenta Viterra<br />
BNSF Railway<br />
Cablevey Conveyors<br />
Minot Area Development Co.<br />
ND Trade Office<br />
West Dakota Feed/Seed<br />
For more information, contact the <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> <strong>Growers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> at 701-222-0128.<br />
For more information on field tours held throughout ND & MT visit www.northernpulse.<br />
com.<br />
For the latest information on pulse variety, insect/weed/<br />
disease control, agronomic and livestock research -<br />
Be sure to attend the<br />
2012 Summer <strong>Pulse</strong> Tours<br />
northernpulse.com (1)
1710 Burnt Boat Drive<br />
Bismarck, ND 58503<br />
Phone. 701.222.0128<br />
Fax. 701.222.6340<br />
E-mail. info@northernpulse.com<br />
Website. northernpulse.com<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Ryan Brooks............. President<br />
District VI, Bowman, ND 701.523.3730<br />
Beau Anderson......... V. President<br />
At Large, Williston, ND 701.875.2328<br />
Position Open........... Secretary<br />
At Large,<br />
Steve Miner............... Treasurer<br />
District I, Richland, MT 406.725.3201<br />
Kristian Sorum.......... Director<br />
District V, Flaxton, ND 701.751.0538<br />
Paul Berntson........... Director<br />
District VII, Adams, ND 701.994.2449<br />
Jon Stoner................. Director<br />
At Large, Havre, MT 406.265.2193<br />
Jerry Schillinger....... Director<br />
District III, Circle, MT 406.485.2479<br />
Chris Westergarad.... Director<br />
District II, Dagmar, MT 406.390.6477<br />
Mark Schmidt Director<br />
District VI, Tioga, ND 701.664.2988<br />
Associate Directors<br />
Mary Burrows.................Bozeman, MT<br />
406.994.7766<br />
Chet Hill...........................Williston, ND<br />
701.774.4315<br />
Brad Hertel......................Casselton, ND<br />
701.347.9965<br />
John Raisler....................Beach, ND<br />
701.371.8966<br />
Eric Bartsch....................Bismarck, ND<br />
701.751.1623<br />
Wayne Schmitz...............Minot, ND<br />
701.568.3315<br />
Aaron Holter....................Williston, ND<br />
701.774.0055<br />
President’s Message<br />
Talk about a complete turnaround from one year<br />
to the next. <strong>Pulse</strong> crops in SW North Dakota<br />
were put in early and are looking great. We<br />
have had some late frost that may affect the<br />
corn and canola in limited areas but overall<br />
crops are off to a good start. Legumes in North<br />
Dakota and Montana should have an excellent<br />
start for the growing season. Hopefully prices<br />
will stay strong along with a good crop this year.<br />
I would like to encourage our producers to get<br />
to the pulse tours at our experiment stations this<br />
year. <strong>The</strong>re is an abundance of information to<br />
glean from these tours.<br />
<strong>The</strong> USADPLC has been very active in Washington,<br />
DC this spring and winter lobbying for a<br />
Ryan Brooks – NPGA President<br />
strong farm bill. It seems that in this congressional<br />
environment, a steady presence is critical to help shape a fair and equitable<br />
bill to benefit all commodities. I would like to personally thank the executive board<br />
of the USADPLC for their time and commitment to the industry.<br />
<strong>The</strong> NPGA office has been very busy with budgeting for this next fiscal year.<br />
Seems the time flies from one year to the next. Lots of new and exciting things<br />
happening in the pulse industry as we strive to put your check off dollars to work<br />
in the most efficient and effective ways. I would like to thank our NPGA employees<br />
for the excellent job they do for our industry.<br />
I would like to wish all a productive and profitable summer.<br />
Unitl next time - Ryan Brooks<br />
Gluten-Free Baking Short Course<br />
NCI will be holding <strong>The</strong> Science of Gluten-Free Baking Short Course, August 7-9, 2012.<br />
This Short Course will provide participants with fundemental knowledge in gluten-free<br />
baking and will emphasize the ingredients and techniques that are necessary to produce<br />
gluten-free baked products.<br />
Special rates are available to groups of 3 or more from the same company.<br />
For more information or to register for the Gluten-Free Baking Short Course go to www.<br />
northern-crops.com and follow the Educational Courses link.<br />
NPGA Staff<br />
Shannon Berndt .....Executive Director<br />
Kaye Effertz ............Marketing Director<br />
Dolores Rohrich ....Communications<br />
Director<br />
Mary Bartsch...........Admin Assistant<br />
(2) northernpulse.com
Mark Your Calendars For Montana <strong>Pulse</strong> Day<br />
<strong>The</strong> NPGA in conjunction with the USADPLC will hold a producer meeting in Montana<br />
in December.<br />
December 12 &13, 2012 -<br />
New Sponsorship Packages for 2013<br />
Watch for it in the mail this fall!<br />
Hummus<br />
In just a decade, this<br />
healthy chickpea<br />
mixture has gone<br />
from being relatively<br />
obscure to finding a<br />
place in the fridges of<br />
one in five American<br />
households!<br />
Billings Hotel & Convention Center, Billings, MT<br />
1223 Mullowney Lane<br />
406-248-7151<br />
Registrations for these events will be sent out this fall (September/October). More<br />
information on the meeting will be posted on the website closer to the event.<br />
Montana <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Advisory Committee<br />
Montana Department of Agriculture<br />
PO Box 200201<br />
Helena, MT 59620-0201<br />
Phone. 406.444.2402<br />
Fax. 406.444.9442<br />
E-mail. agr@mt.gov<br />
Michael Ehlers...............Producer<br />
Oilmont, MT<br />
Kim Murray....................Producer<br />
Froid, MT<br />
Grant Zerbe ..................Producer<br />
Frazer, MT<br />
Jon Stoner......................Producer<br />
Harve, MT<br />
Brian Kae.........................Producer<br />
Dagmar, MT<br />
Leta Campbell...............Marketing<br />
Wolf Point, MT<br />
NPGA Appoints New Associate Directors Team<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> <strong>Growers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> is pleased to announce the appointments<br />
of our new Associate Directors Team: Dr. Mary Burrows - Montana State University,<br />
Bozeman, MT; Chet Hill - Williston Research Extension Center, Williston, ND; Brad<br />
Hertel - Meridan Seeds, Casselton, ND; John Raisler - Dupont Crop Protection,<br />
Beach, ND; Eric Bartsch - United <strong>Pulse</strong> Trading, Bismarck, ND; Wayne Schmitz -<br />
Viterra, Minot, ND; Aaron Holter - Farm Credit Services, Williston, ND.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se individuals are an excellent resource by providing input to the NPGA Board<br />
of Directors on industry issues such as research, marketing, processing and crop<br />
insurance. We look forward to working with them in the upcoming years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> NPGA would like to thank the following past associate directors for their service<br />
and dedication: Ryan Nelson - Pro Co-Op, Opheim, MT; Blaine Schatz - CREC,<br />
Carrington, ND; Mehmet Tulbeck - <strong>Northern</strong> Crops Institute, Fargo, ND; Dave Polries<br />
- Dakota Dry Bean, Inc., Grand Forks, ND; Perry Miller - Montana State University,<br />
Bozeman, MT; Becky Braaten - Farm Credit Services, Bottineau, ND; Kent<br />
McKay - BASF, Carpio, ND.<br />
PO Box 1352<br />
Bismarck, ND 58501<br />
Phone. 701.222.0128<br />
Fax. 7011.222.6340<br />
Jeff Knox.........................District 1<br />
Ray, ND 701.568.3262<br />
Callen Hoff, Chairman...District II<br />
Richardton, ND 701.974.3375<br />
Richard Mickelson........District III<br />
Rolla, ND................................. 701.477.3617<br />
James Haux..................District IV<br />
McClusky, ND..............................701.363.2346<br />
Kevin Haas, V-Chairman.District V<br />
Jamestown, ND.........................701.763-6533<br />
Doug Goehring.............Ex-Officio<br />
Charles Carvel.........Legal Counsel<br />
northernpulse.com (3)
Dr. Julie Pasche will join the Department of<br />
Plant Pathology July 2, 2012 as an Assistant<br />
Professor with research responsibilities for<br />
diseases of pulse crops.<br />
Dr. Pasche is a native of Minnesota<br />
and received a B.S. in Microbiology and<br />
Biotechnology, as well as an M.S. and Ph.D.<br />
in Plant Pathology, all from North Dakota State<br />
University. As an undergraduate student, Dr.<br />
Pasche competed for the Bison in volleyball<br />
and track and field. She was a two-time all-<br />
American volleyball player, still holds many<br />
NDSU volleyball records and was inducted into<br />
the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. After<br />
obtaining her bachelor’s degree, Dr. Pasche<br />
joined the Department of Plant Pathology<br />
as a technician in the potato pathology laboratory of Dr. Neil<br />
Gudmestad, University Distinguished Professor. She eventually<br />
rose to position of lab manager for Dr. Gudmestad, who served<br />
as Dr. Pasche’s major advisor for both of her graduate degrees.<br />
Dr. Julie Pasche Joins NDSU<br />
Dr. Julie Pasche<br />
Dr. Pasche’s work in potato pathology focused on the<br />
management of foliar and soil-borne diseases of potato, including<br />
those caused by bacterial, viral, fungal and oomycete pathogens.<br />
Her Ph.D. research focused specifically on two fungal diseases<br />
(black dot and Verticilium wilt) and has important implications<br />
for detection of pathogens, diagnosis of diseases, improving<br />
efforts to breed for disease resistance and for understanding how<br />
disease develops.<br />
Dr. Pasche also has many years of direct<br />
experience with fungicides, including field<br />
trials for fungicide efficacy and studies related<br />
to the development of fungicide resistance in<br />
pathogens of potato.<br />
Dr. Pasche plans to continue her work with<br />
pathogen detection focusing on utilizing<br />
molecular methods to facilitate breeding<br />
efforts, pathogen detection and identification.<br />
She believes breeding for resistance to plant<br />
pathogens is an integral part of any plant<br />
disease management strategy and therefore,<br />
collaboration between pathologists and breeders<br />
is critical for successful development and<br />
integration of new cultivars into production<br />
systems of any crop.<br />
Dr. Pasche will take an active role with breeders in the<br />
development of genetic resistance to plant pathogens of<br />
economic importance to North Dakota. Additionally, she is<br />
looking forward to learning more about the disease problems<br />
important to North Dakota pulse growers. Dr. Pasche feels that<br />
serving the citizens of North Dakota is paramount to the Land<br />
Grant University. In her role as the <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Pathologist, she<br />
will work to identify and understand the needs of producers in<br />
the state and work towards finding both short- and long-term<br />
solutions for their plant disease problems. All of this will involve<br />
partnership with pulse crop growers and the <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong><br />
<strong>Growers</strong> <strong>Association</strong>.<br />
<strong>Pulse</strong> Producers Represented<br />
A Trusted buyer,<br />
processor and<br />
exporter<br />
of lentils,<br />
chickpeas,<br />
beans and peas<br />
<strong>The</strong> regions pulse producers were recently represented at<br />
the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council’s national board meeting<br />
June 12 & 13, 2012. Ryan Brooks, NPGA President, Cal Hoff,<br />
NDDPLC Chair and Shannon Berndt, NPGA Executive Director<br />
participated in USADPLC meetings held in Spokane, WA.<br />
From Producer to the World<br />
To market your lentils, chickpeas, beans or peas or to discuss growing<br />
pulses, contact United <strong>Pulse</strong> Trading at 1-877-751-1623.<br />
www.alliancegrain.com www.uspulses.com<br />
Alliance Grain Traders Inc. trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AGT.<br />
(4) northernpulse.com
MORE<br />
YIELD<br />
POTENTIAL<br />
FROM EVERY<br />
FIELD<br />
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1 billion rhizobia per gram. Mixes easily with seed directly<br />
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Nodulator Liquid – High levels of advanced pulse-specific<br />
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<strong>The</strong> Becker Underwood logo and Nodulator ® are registered<br />
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northernpulse.com (5)
Buyers for peas, lentils and chickpeas are very demanding on<br />
quality. Proper harvesting can make a difference between getting<br />
a premium price as food grade or have them rejected. Taking the<br />
time to harvest, watch for the following grade quality factors can<br />
make a difference in getting a premium price.<br />
Yellow and Green Food Peas<br />
Bleach in green peas is caused by moisture and sunlight at<br />
maturity. Green peas should be harvested at high moisture<br />
(18%) and air dried to 13-15% (Depending what the processors<br />
want the product at) for storage. Swathing or desiccation is<br />
recommended for speeding up harvest. Bleach in yellow peas is<br />
due to green (immature) seed at harvest. This can be avoided by<br />
harvesting when the seed has turned color or harvesting areas of<br />
the field as they mature.<br />
Damage can result in not meeting<br />
food grade standards, which include:<br />
chalkspot, hail damage, staining,<br />
disease and mechanical damage.<br />
Chalkspot can be caused by lygus<br />
bugs stinging the immature seed or<br />
hail. Look for white spots on the seed,<br />
if its insect damage, it should be most<br />
pronounced on the first outside rounds.<br />
Check your grain tank regularly and<br />
avoid mixing these damaged seeds<br />
with the rest of the crop. Hail damage<br />
on immature seed can cause a lot<br />
of staining and spots on the seeds,<br />
if you know you had hail on all or part of the field, keep it<br />
separate. Staining or dirt tag is the result of weeds or moisture<br />
and dirt clinging to the seed. Avoid harvesting through wet weed<br />
patches or when there is dew on the plants. Diseased plants like<br />
ascochyta and mildew can also discolor the seed.<br />
Mechanical Damage - Fragile seeds of peas can easily be<br />
damaged if the combine and augers are not set or operated<br />
properly. <strong>The</strong> biggest problem in the splitting or breaking the seed<br />
coats is harvesting too dry. Peas should be harvested at high<br />
moisture (18%) and air dried. Combine settings - slow cylinder<br />
speeds and concave openings large enough to allow the large<br />
seeded peas through is most often the method of preventing<br />
mechanical damage. Seed loss is most often associated with<br />
seed going over the straw walkers, this loss can be minimized by<br />
setting the concave closer in the front than in the back to try to<br />
dislodge the seed from the straw. If the straw is to tough, it might<br />
help to increase cylinder speed. If the loss is over 2-3 bus./ac. (8-<br />
12 seeds/sq.ft.) you might have to wait until the straw is dryer.<br />
Maximize the wind speed for peas to remove as much inert<br />
material as possible. Peas are very hard to blow over.<br />
Lentils<br />
Lentils are very indeterminate in growth and normally require<br />
(6) northernpulse.com<br />
<strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Harvest Tips<br />
swathing or desiccation before harvest. If you are swathing lentils<br />
for the first time, it would be very helpful to talk to an experienced<br />
grower on how to set up you swather, as this can be an easy or a<br />
very frustrating experience. Harvesting lentils at 16% moisture is<br />
important to keep the mechanical damage to a minimum, then air<br />
dry to 14%. Color is very important in green lentils, as with peas,<br />
be ready to harvest quickly and avoid immature areas of the field.<br />
Damage - again, as in peas, monitor your grain tank for any<br />
changes in quality. Chalkspot, weed or dirt staining, disease, frost<br />
damage and hail are the most common causes of low quality.<br />
Chickpeas<br />
Like lentils, chickpeas are very indeterminate in maturity as are<br />
lentils. <strong>The</strong>y are also very late maturing, so most of the time<br />
frost kills the plants. Straight cutting is the most common method<br />
of harvesting if the plants are standing.<br />
Kabuli (large seeded) chickpeas are the<br />
hardest to get quality. <strong>The</strong>se are sold in<br />
individual lots and are subject not only to<br />
grade but to buyer preferences. Quality<br />
could mean the difference of over one<br />
hundred dollars per acre. Not only do<br />
buyers want bright white seeds, they also<br />
pay according to size. While you can’t<br />
control the seed size at harvest you can<br />
improve the chances for bright white<br />
seeds by monitoring your grain tank often.<br />
Damage - Avoid harvesting when the<br />
plants are wet with dew to avoid dirt tagging or if staining is<br />
occurring due to wet weeds. Keep all changes in size and quality<br />
separate.<br />
Mechanical Damage - Because of the size of the seed of the<br />
Kabuli types, it’s very important to reduce mechanical damage.<br />
Harvesting at 18% moisture and air drying to 15% will help<br />
reduce chipping and splitting. Make sure your concave has<br />
openings large enough to accommodate the seed size. Reduce<br />
cylinder speeds to the slowest operating speed without slugging<br />
the cylinder. Keep augers running full and slow when handling.<br />
Like peas, you can use high wind speeds to keep the inert<br />
materials to a minimum.<br />
Great <strong>Northern</strong> Ag<br />
Superior Products & Services<br />
Seed, Inoculants, and Seed Conditioning<br />
PO Box 128<br />
Plaza, ND 58771<br />
(701) 497-3082<br />
“We buy peas, lentils and chickpeas”
<strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Breeding<br />
By Dr. Kevin McPhee, NDSU <strong>Pulse</strong> Breeder<br />
Plant breeding has provided agriculture<br />
worldwide new and improved varieties<br />
of all major crops. Outcomes have been<br />
increased production, reduced input<br />
costs and improved quality for end use<br />
applications. Genetic improvement<br />
provides many benefits to agriculture<br />
through the release of new varieties;<br />
however, it is a long term endeavor.<br />
Beginning with the first cross of two elite<br />
parents the time to release of a new<br />
variety can be as long as 10-12 years.<br />
Parental selection is crucial to the success<br />
of plant breeding and sets the stage for<br />
future crosses and refinement of breeding<br />
objectives.<br />
Objectives of the NDSU <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop<br />
Breeding Program include yield,<br />
agronomic field performance, seed<br />
quality and disease resistance.<br />
Disease resistance is paramount to<br />
development of new varieties for the<br />
Midwest region including eastern<br />
Montana and all of North Dakota<br />
due to the potential for disease<br />
development in the presence of<br />
summer precipitation events, including<br />
heavy dews, from mid June through<br />
early August. Pathogens causing<br />
Ascochyta blight on pea, lentil and<br />
chickpea along with other foliar fungi<br />
which flourish in moist conditions<br />
can be particularly devastating to<br />
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Dr. Kevin McPhee, NDSU <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Breeder<br />
these crops. Field conditions over<br />
the past three years, especially 2011,<br />
have given excellent opportunities<br />
to identify relative disease reactions<br />
among available germplasm.<br />
Seed quality in pea, lentil and<br />
chickpea has begun to change from<br />
simple visual appearance of the pea<br />
to include seed constituents. Most<br />
markets still hold visual appearance<br />
of the seed as the primary measure<br />
of quality; however, some markets are<br />
reportedly considering micronutrient<br />
composition as a key measure<br />
of quality. <strong>The</strong> NDSU <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop<br />
Breeding Program in conjunction<br />
with the NDSU <strong>Pulse</strong> Quality and<br />
Nutrition Laboratory is evaluating<br />
genetic material in the breeding<br />
program for seed compositional<br />
quality. <strong>The</strong>se evaluations are not only<br />
characterizing the genetic potential,<br />
but also providing insight into location<br />
specific potential for improved<br />
micronutrient quality. Results of<br />
these studies have the potential to<br />
increase crop values if superior quality<br />
characteristics are identified.<br />
<strong>The</strong> NDSU <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Breeding<br />
Program has characterized a wide<br />
range of germplasm from many<br />
different sources. Evaluation of<br />
germplasm acquired from international<br />
research centers such as the<br />
International Center for Agricultural<br />
Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in<br />
Aleppo, Syria, offers a great opportunity<br />
to identify new useful germplasm of<br />
lentil and chickpea with resistance to<br />
several of the foliar fungal pathogens<br />
important in the Midwest. Collaboration<br />
such as this is expected to yield<br />
improved varieties with superior<br />
performance compared to currently<br />
available varieties.<br />
Field trials are being conducted in 2012<br />
in conjunction with NDSU Research<br />
Extension Centers with the intent<br />
to identify breeding lines and elite<br />
germplasm. <strong>The</strong>se trials include yield<br />
evaluations, disease nurseries and early<br />
generation nurseries. Seed harvested<br />
from all the trials will be evaluated<br />
for visual quality and seed from the<br />
advanced trials will be subjected to<br />
compositional analyses to identify lines<br />
with high quality attributes. This data<br />
will be compiled and used to justify the<br />
worthiness of specific breeding lines for<br />
variety release.<br />
Shana Pederson, NDSU Asst. <strong>Pulse</strong> Crop Breeder<br />
Summer <strong>Pulse</strong> Tours/Field<br />
Days Scheduled<br />
For more information see<br />
calendar of events<br />
northernpulse.com (7)
A Message from Shannon Berndt, NPGA Executive Director<br />
We had a great rebound in dry pea & lentil acres in the region given<br />
the weather issues of the past year. Reports from across the region<br />
on crops have been excellent and we hope that Mother Nature will<br />
continue to cooperate until everything is in the bin.<br />
Things have been moving ahead in leaps and bounds within the<br />
pulse industry. As I am writing this, it was announced the Farm Bill<br />
has passed out the Senate 64-35 and now the legislation rests in the<br />
hands of the House. Crop insurance and the <strong>Pulse</strong> Health Initiative<br />
continue to be top priority for the industry. <strong>The</strong> USA Dry Pea & Lentil<br />
Council has worked hard over the past couple of years to ensure<br />
that the pulse industry remains at the table during the Farm Bill<br />
development process.<br />
<strong>The</strong> regions pulse breeding program, managed by Dr. Kevin<br />
McPhee, NDSU, continues to advance. <strong>The</strong> programs efforts<br />
will provide producers with varieties that are high in quality, have<br />
beneficial agronomic traits and marketability. <strong>The</strong>re has been<br />
a surge in interest in pulses due in large part to the aggressive<br />
marketing efforts for the industry—particularly in domestic<br />
marketing. <strong>The</strong> breeding and quality program will be invaluable<br />
in the development of these markets. <strong>The</strong> NPGA continues to<br />
collaborate extensively with <strong>Northern</strong> Crops Institute and the USA<br />
Dry Pea & Lentil Council.<br />
Tom Hammond, President and CEO of Columbia Grain, Inc.<br />
announced that the company has entered into a definitive<br />
agreement to purchase the processing facility of West Dakota<br />
Fee & Seed LLC in Ross, ND. <strong>The</strong> assets include a processing<br />
line for pulse crops, flax, canola and seed grains. It also<br />
includes the grain bins and warehouse storage. Terms of the<br />
transaction were completed June 15, 2012.<br />
“West Dakota Feed and Seed has been a supporter of our<br />
pulse export program for many years supplying CGI with peas<br />
and lentils to distribute to customers all over the globe” Hammond<br />
said. “This purchase will add diversification to our already<br />
well established pulse supply chain from Montana, Washington,<br />
and Idaho. We look forward to working with producers in<br />
the Western and Central North Dakota region.”<br />
Columbia Grain was incorporated in 1978. With this acquisition,<br />
Columbia will add to its six existing processing facilities<br />
located in Montana, Washington and Idaho. CGI is also constructing<br />
an additional plant in Tiber, MT. CGI also owns and<br />
operates forty-two grain elevators in six western states with a<br />
combined storage capacity of approximately 1.2 million metric<br />
tons. Many of the facilities are used as a pipeline to feed<br />
Columbia’s export elevator located in Portland, Oregon. <strong>The</strong><br />
remaining assets are utilized to service domestic markets.<br />
West Dakota Feed and Seed LLC originated in 1999, formed<br />
by current owners, Curt Trulson, Wayne Johnson, Kelly Hanson,<br />
Jim Domaskin, Meyer Kinnion and Roger Evans. <strong>The</strong><br />
owners had a concept of integrating new markets for speciality<br />
crops that were becoming popular in the area. West Dakota<br />
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I would like to welcome new pathology researcher, Dr. Julie Pasche.<br />
She is a great addition to the strong research “team” that has been<br />
assembled in the region. Her expertise will assist our producers<br />
in finding the best solutions to grow a quality crop and increase<br />
profitability in their operations. I look forward to working with Dr.<br />
Pasche.<br />
And finally, I would like to thank the past NPGA associate directors.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y have played a major role in the industry by providing input<br />
and expertise on issues such as research, marketing and crop<br />
insurance. I personally have appreciated having these individuals<br />
as a resource. I look forward to working with the newly appointed<br />
associate directors and know that we again have a talented group of<br />
individuals on board.<br />
I would like to encourage each of you to become actively involved in<br />
the pulse industry. Many times throughout this past year, members<br />
in all regions have been called upon to support industry priorities.<br />
We thank our members for their phone calls, letters and emails.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fact that pulses have remained very visible within the Senate<br />
legislation is true testament to the support of our membership.<br />
Thank you and I hope you all have a successful crop year!<br />
CGI to Purchase West Dakota Feed & Seed<br />
Shannon Berndt, NPGA Executive Director<br />
Feed and Seed handles peas, lentils, flax canola, and organic<br />
grains. West Dakota currently employs 11-12 employees.<br />
Kevin Kvamme has been managing the company since 2004<br />
and will continue to be the buyer/manager for CGI. Donald<br />
Giese will remain the plant operations manager, a position he<br />
has held since 2003. <strong>The</strong> plant is designed for identity preserved<br />
grain handling and serves markets world wide.<br />
Source: CGI, Portland, Oregon
1710 Burnt Boat Drive<br />
Bismarck, ND 58503<br />
postage?<br />
permit?<br />
We’re not Bigger,<br />
We’re Better!<br />
215 Main St.<br />
Crary, ND 58327<br />
1-866-379-7327<br />
Calendar of Events<br />
July 10, 12 - NDSU REC Field Day, Hettinger, ND<br />
July 11, 12 - NDSU REC Field Day, Dickinson, ND<br />
July 12, 12 - NARC Field Day, Havre, MT<br />
July 12, 12 -NCREC <strong>Pulse</strong> Tour, Minot, ND<br />
July 13, 12 - CREC <strong>Pulse</strong> Tour, Carrington, ND<br />
July 17, 12 - Field Day, Carrington, ND<br />
July 18, 12 - Field Day, Minot, ND<br />
July 18, 12 Richland Field Day, Richland, MT<br />
July 19, 12 - EARC Field Day, Sidney, MT<br />
July 19, 12 - Friends & Neighbors Day, Mandan, ND<br />
July 24, 12 - Field Day, Williston, ND<br />
July 25, 12 - NARC Field Day, Creston, MT<br />
December 12 & 13, 12 - Montana <strong>Pulse</strong> Day, Billings, MT<br />
January 21-22, 13 - NPGA Annual Conv. Minot, ND<br />
January 23-25, 13 - KMOT Ag Expo, Minot, ND<br />
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