FARMERS should embrace the benefits of the pulse even beyond the farmgate, according to food ambassador and chef Simon Bryant.
Mr Bryant was lunch time speaker at this year’s Hart Field Day, which honoured the crop due to it being the International Year of the Pulse.
He said the varieties and quality of pulses grown in Australia was something “pretty special”.
“We talk about submarine contracts, but pulses are worth $3.2 billion and that’s on the rise,” he said. “It’s a huge value crop to us.”
Mr Bryant said there was plenty to love about the pulse for its value to a farm rotation, but he said there was also plenty of value once it left the farm as well.
“I’m not sure if pulse growers appreciate what they’ve got,” he said.
“It’s a great food and it’s something to be proud of.
“We’re so envious as chefs that farmers have this stuff in their backyard.”
Mr Bryant said he still saw a disconnect between the farmgate and the consumer.
“If you don’t love it and eat it yourselves, how can you expect your consumers to?” he asked.
Mr Bryant was joined by Pulse Australia chairman Peter Wilson, who said it was a great time to be in the industry.
He said new pulse markets were opening up, including the large snack food market.
“It’s a magnificent revolution in further value-adding to the pulse crop,” he said.
“It’s very easy to understand why the pulse has come of age, and we’re talking about an even bigger pulse crop next year.
“We keep producing bigger crops and then selling them at a price that helps farmers.”
Mr Wilson said pulses were likely to continue to grow in popularity as the cost of animal protein continued to rise.
“Pulses continue to be available to the world’s poor and rich as something to improve nutrition,” he said.
“This is an option for mums and dads trying to add some extra fibre and protein and reduce the cost per plate.
“You can dry this, harvest it, and have it in a plate-ready condition that night.”
Hart Field-Site Group chairman Damien Sommerville said pulses were a key focus of the day’s events, which saw more than 500 people turn up to tackle the muddy site.
But he said there was also still a focus on some other key trials such as nutrient use, and the “perennial favourite” of wheat varieties, which had a crowd of up to 250 in one session.
Mr Sommerville said the Hart Field Day continued to be popular because everything crop and pasture related was situated in the one spot.
“Because of the scale of Hart, we can get the ‘rock stars’ of the farming world,” he said.
Mr Sommerville said he was “rapt” with the day, and the crowd.
“Given the conditions and how wet it was, we still got a really good turnout,” he said.
“It shows the resilience of farmers that they still want to come here.”