Do you recall the prediction about beef and dairy? RethinkX said in 2019 that the industry will collapse in 11 years. That's soon if you ask me.
There are doubts and disagreements about how accurate RethinkX's timeline is. But not many doubt the content of it. Farms will be replaced with fermenters. Cows, chickens and pigs will live in petting zoos or as household pets.
What will the farmers be doing instead of beef and dairy? Saskatchewan seems to be an example - growing 95% of Canada's lentils. Canada is the top lentil grower in the world. Saskatchewan is considered the breadbasket of Canada - wheat, oats, barley, canola, flax, and of course the lentils. Lentils are getting a lot of attention as one of the crops of the future.
Could Alberta also be a large producer of lentils? Alberta wheat is its largest crop, followed by barley and canola. Alberta is well behind Saskatchewan in growing lentils, but there is optimism that this can change.
Then I took a look at Ontario. There is a grower in Elora who proclaims they are Ontario's only lentil grower. From one end of the spectrum with Saskatchewan to the other with Ontario.
I wonder how it is there is only a single Ontario grower. What conditions are prevalent in Saskatchewan? Here they are in the promotional material for Alberta farmers to grow lentils.
Consider growing lentils if …
You live in Southern Alberta, Central Alberta, or the Peace River Region.
Your soil pH is between 6.0 and 8.0.
You’re growing in the Dark Brown or Thin Black soil zones.
You do not have high levels of flooding or salinity in your fields.
You’re interested in marketing flexibility that includes markets for human consumption (including fractionation), and animal consumption when the product grades lower than Canada No. 3.
You want to reduce your input costs (as pulses are nitrogen fixing); break disease cycles in your field; obtain a second-year yield boost in other crops following a pulse crop; improve your soil health; promote soil conversation and sustainable farming practices; and improve farm profitability.
Our railroad pictures today come from our visit to Hickory 10 years ago. The Narrow Gauge Rail convention is there this year. We're not going with the US border closed and COVID numbers much higher in North Carolina than in Ontario. It's too bad as the beautiful Biltmore Mansion and gardens are close-by.
