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A dry pea grower says adding crop to traditional rotation presents challenges

A dry pea grower in Central Nebraska says producers who aren’t diversifying their operation with specialty crops could be missing out on ways to improve their bottom line.

Logan Govier of Broken Bow tells Brownfield, “It’s a new crop and people aren’t used to it and it sometimes is hard to think out of the box and change.”

He says dry peas are planted in low water use areas. “In our area, corn and soybeans are well established and that’s what everybody has the equipment, infrastructure, it’s a little bit of a struggle to break into a crop not too many people know about,” he says.

Govier says he has planted dry peas for eight years and the crop uses the same equipment that soybeans require, while at the same time has provided other benefits. “If you’re looking for adding something to your cropping rotation, especially if you have cattle in your operation, peas allow you to harvest a crop at the end of the July and then you have the ability to put a cover crop down.”

He says that allows producers to use the cover crop as a grazing opportunity in years where hay and pasture availability are challenged.