Pardina small brown lentils progress on farmer Art Schultheis’s farm ground northwest of Colton, Wash. Pulse harvest is slated to get underway in the Pacific Northwest after July 4, a little earlier than normal, and last through mid-September. (Courtesy USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council)

Pulse harvest in the Pacific Northwest will get underway after July 4, said Tim McGreevy, chief executive officer of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council.

Farmers in the Walla Walla, Wash., area are usually the first in the fields, and they’re getting close, he said.

“Things seem to be coming on faster, because we just haven’t had much rain,” he said. “That’s a little earlier than we normally go, but what’s a normal year any more? It seems like the past three years, everything’s been a little earlier, so maybe this is the new normal.”

Dry peas are usually the first to be harvested in mid to late July, followed by lentils in early August. Chickpeas are late August to mid-September.

“Chickpeas are still green outside my window, so they’ve got a long ways to go,” McGreevy said from the council office on the Washington-Idaho border in Moscow.

Lentils are “hanging in there,” he said. “They’re a fairly drought-tolerant crop, but it would be nice to have a little rain,” McGreevy said. Hot temperatures are “not great if you’re flowering.”

Last year, earlier planting times made a big difference for yields, and he expects a similar scenario this year.

“Overall, we’re probably looking at maybe average to below unless we start getting some rain,” he said.

Demand

About half of chickpeas are exported. About 65% of lentils and 60% of peas are exported.

“We’ve done well on the domestic market, but still, export markets are really important to us,” he said.

What that will mean for this year is still unknown. The pause on President Donald Trump’s tariffs is slated to end July 8.

“Because of all the uncertainty, people are just waiting and wondering,” McGreevy said. “There’s been a lot of anticipation and people sitting on their hands, until there’s a little more clarity, if there’s going to be.”

Green peas range from $13 to $15.50 per hundredweight on the market. Lentils are about $35 per hundredweight. Chickpeas are $34 per hundredweight.

Prices have recently softened due to increased acreage for all three crops, as harvest approaches, which is typical, McGreevy said.

There were more than 1 million acres of peas nationwide, 1.1 million acres of lentils and 577,000 acres of chickpeas.