Source: NCSU COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, 9/17/20


Grain pea has been produced on the North Carolina/South Carolina border over the past several years by a pocket of growers around Lumberton, North Carolina (Figure 1). A dry pea with a green or yellow seed coat (Figure 2), it is shelled for human or animal consumption. Grain peas are high in protein and also low in trypsin inhibitors and therefore do not require heat treatment when used as animal feed. Multiple buyers in the Southeast are interested in grain peas for inclusion in traditional animal feed, grain-free dog food, and food-grade products. The alternative to locally sourced peas for regional end users is peas shipped via rail from the Northwest.

One of the biggest advantages of incorporating grain peas into North Carolina growers’ rotations is the unique time frame in which they are produced; planting occurs from December through January, and harvest occurs in late May or early June. This window offers an opportunity for our producers to plant a crop other than small grains after other field management operations have concluded in late fall. Such diversification from traditional winter grain crops can help alleviate some of the pest-management problems associated with continuous small grain production. Peas are a legume, similar to soybeans, and can provide some residual N benefit to the subsequent cash crop. Also, North Carolina producers can grow peas with minimal investment in new equipment, as the peas are planted with a grain drill and can be harvested with the soybean sieves on a combine.

The disadvantages of producing grain pea in our state include (1) difficulty establishing the crop during December and January due to prolonged wet conditions and disease pressure, (2) close proximity of average yield and break-even yield, and (3) lack of stable markets.

Local growers had been producing this crop largely through trial-and-error before NC State Extension began conducting targeted applied research to answer production questions. If stable markets emerge, we want our growers to already have the foundational agronomic information necessary to grow this crop successfully (Figure 3). Growers identified the most important production topics that needed to be addressed through research to help optimize production, which included planting date, seeding rate, and variety selection. We have not been able to research many other topics yet in North Carolina, though we have obtained anecdotal information on those topics from our growers and colleagues in other parts of the United States.

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