Idle farmland could get busy with peas

New Leaf Essentials East plans to contract for 2,000 hectares of field peas

Image | Field peas in flower

Caption: Islanders will be seeing more peas in fields this summer. (Shutterstock)

The P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture is welcoming this week's announcement that a field pea processor is setting up in Slemon Park.
New Leaf Essentials East has set a target to contract 2,000 hectares of field peas in 2017, and sees potential for further growth.

Image | David Mol

Caption: The new crop will help farmers with crop rotation requirements, says David Mol. (P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture)

"An additional [2,000 hectares] of crops on P.E.I. may mean some idle land is brought back into production and this is good news for the province," said federation president David Mol in a news release.
Mol is hopeful this new growing opportunity could bring economic benefits to the agricultural community across the Island.
Having a new crop to grow will help farmers with the environmental challenges they face while trying to deal with the need for crop rotation and soil rejuvenation, he said.