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Nebraska’s pea, lentil farmers get revenue protections

The USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council has recently accepted the newly formed Nebraska affiliate to help provide producers with revenue protections for their crops.

Logan Govier of Broken Bow is the vice chair of the Nebraska Pea and Lentil Commission. “At least in our area, for feeling comfortable growing a crop that you don’t have the insurance for so one of the things we’ve been looking into is where can we get revenue protection like we have with corn and soybeans.”

In the 2020 legislative session, State Senator Dan Venango introduced legislation creating the five-member commission to create policies and programs to help discover, promote and develop markets for the crops.

Govier says the national council requires that state affiliates institute a one-percent checkoff program. “That was a hurdle that we’ve cleared.  Now, collecting checkoff dollars starts July 1 of this year and once we have some funds, we’ll be working with the University on some different research projects.”

The Central Nebraska grower says the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) also has programs for farmers looking to diversify their operation. “Don’t forget to check with the NRCS office to see what kind of carrot they might dangle for expanding for another crop as well.”

Govier says the crop is ideal for cattle producers because it allows farmers to harvest peas in July and then plant a cover crop behind it.