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BENCHMARK PRICING TOOL HELPS PULSE PRODUCERS MARKET FEED PEAS AND FABA BEANS WHAT ARE THE FEED BENCHMARKS? Producers considering selling their field pea and faba bean crops into the feed market as an alterna ve op on will want to check out the Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) and Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) bi-weekly updated feed benchmark reports. Originally launched by Pulse Canada in January 2009 to serve as a pricing reference for buyers and sellers of feed peas, the benchmark has grown to include faba beans. This third-party, online tool provides a transparent, unbiased pricing reference not only for the pulse, but also the feed, and livestock industries "Farmers can some mes have a hard me gauging the value of feed peas and faba beans in Western Canada," said Ron Gibson, president of Gibson Capital, the company that developed the benchmark methodology. "One way to es mate their value is to look at the prices of other compe ng feed ingredients that have be er price discovery, i.e. for which reliable market prices are readily available." Se ng The Price The feed pea and faba bean benchmarks are based on the value of a wide range of other feed ingredients, such as feed wheat, barley, canola meal, and more. Gibson said the benchmark models determine what price feed peas and faba beans would have to trade at in order to be compe ve in a hog feed ra on in Western Canada. "In other words, based on the nutri onal characteris cs of feed peas and faba beans, what price would the farmer have to sell at in order to displace other feed ingredients." Gibson said, explaining that the actual calcula on is done using a least- cost, feed-ra on program similar to what many hog operators use to op mize their hog diets. "The expecta on is that actual prices will trade in a range around the benchmark prices based on various other considera ons such as loca on." The Market It is a challenge to capture the actual size of the feed market for field pea and faba bean crops as it is not accurately broken down. It varies by crop year, exports, and grain quality. The pulse industry uses swine to calculate the benchmark because it is the largest market for feed peas and faba beans in Western Canada. Poultry and dairy ca le are other, smaller markets. Both field peas and faba beans offer livestock a supplementary protein and starch source. Dr. Eduardo Beltranena, a feed research scien st with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Livestock Research and Extension Division, explained that en re field pea plants, including immature pods, can be cut and layered with green barley to increase the protein content of silage for dairy cows as part of their winter diet. As for feed grain purposes, field peas and faba beans are ground and mixed into feed to provide not only supplemental protein, but also as an energy source. "Both field peas and faba beans have quite a bit of starch," Beltranena said. "There is a misconcep on they are just protein, but they are not. Feeding both faba bean and field pea protein (approximately 28% protein in faba beans and 22% in field peas) greatly complements the amino acid value of canola meal. The slower diges ble starch in pulses also complements the more rapidly diges ble starch in cereal grains like barley and wheat." Faba beans were added to the benchmark in 2015 as they became an increasingly popular crop with farmers. Faba beans are gaining popularity because yields are generally greater- about one tonne per hectare more than field peas, Beltranena said. "Not only are they easier to harvest but also yields are higher so it is becoming the preferred rota onal pulse crop. Faba rules when it comes to kilograms of dressed pork per unit of crop land. But field peas yield higher when ho er and dryer agronomic condi ons prevail." Overall, the benchmark helps crop growers cast selling opportuni es into the feed market. - Courtesy of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers 2 0

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