Mallory cited in Press Herald report on feasibility of growing field peas in Maine
Ellen Mallory, a sustainable agriculture professor with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and in the UMaine School of Food and Agriculture, was quoted in a Portland Press Herald article about whether yellow field peas could be a viable crop for Maine. The yellow field pea has become a hot commodity, fueled by the growth of vegan products that rely on the pea for their protein content, according to the article. Some Maine farmers have recently added the crop to their rotations, but whether the state’s agriculture sector can profit from the growing vegan market depends on processing, the article states. Field trials with yellow peas that were conducted by UMaine Extension at Rogers Farm in Old Town from 2013 to 2015 produced yields from 45 to 74 bushels per acre. “Results from this third year of trials at the University of Maine further confirm that field pea is a viable rotation crop in organic cereal/pulse rotations,” said the final report written by UMaine Extension specialists Mallory and Tom Molloy. “I do believe there is great potential for Maine farmers to grow field peas,” Mallory wrote in an email. “There has been talk about (field peas) as a potential crop to meet the demand of the new markets,” she said. “Maine’s ability to take advantage of the expanding market for plant-based proteins will depend on processing infrastructure.”