Idle farmland could get busy with peas

The P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture is welcoming this week's announcement that a field pea processor is setting up in Slemon Park.

• Pea processor sets 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.

"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.

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