Can Pulse Crops Double Acreage by 2030? The Push to Include More Pulses in the MAHA Movement

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:16:28 GMT

You’ve probably eaten a pulse crop and not even realized it. Whether it’s hummus, made from chickpeas, or lentils in soups or salads, the edible legumes might be small in size, but are packed with powerful nutrients. And there’s now a push to include more pulses in the Trump administration’s movement to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).

Pulse crops are grown on just over 4 million acres today, but growers hope they could be the future of healthier diets.

“We consume so little of these crops in the United States, it’s between 11 lb. and 12 lb. per person,” says Tim McGreevy, a farmer and CEO of USA Pulses. “We have to bump that up.”

From dry beans, to lentils to chickpeas, pulse crops are the dry, edible seeds of legume plants. They are harvested for their dried seeds, but according to McGreevy, it’s these crops that are a valuable source of protein and fiber as well as a way for farmers to improve soil health.

“Farmers can raise these crops all over the country,” McGreevy says. “Our issue is we’ve got to raise demand. And if we’re going to be serious about feeding our school kids and reducing obesity and their chronic diseases that are cropping up, we have to feed them healthy foods like pulses or at least increase their consumption of these really terrific foods.”

Last week during the USA Pulses Summit in Spokane, Wash., the group set a lofty goal: to double production and demand by the year 2030.

“And frankly, it’s a needed goal,” McGreevy says. “I mean, we have to turn things around. When over 70% of our population has a chronic disease or is facing obesity, I’m telling you, we have a problem. So we are all in with the Make America Healthy Again movement, because if we can do that, and lower chronic diseases, we feel pretty confident that we’re going to increase consumption of pulses because they have high dietary fiber. They have resistant starch, they’re good for your gut health. These crops are a huge solution to making America healthy again and actually lowering chronic diseases in this country.”

These crops are mainly grown in the northern Plains, as well as the pacific Northwest today. But McGreevy says the crops can be grown across the country. And with prices for crops like corn, soybeans and wheat so low today, pulse crops could be a good option for farmers searching to try something new.

What does McGreevy want traditional row crop farmers to know? He says prices for pulse crops are surprisingly good. If farmers across the Midwest who are struggling with low corn, soybean and wheat prices are looking for a crop to add to their rotation, pulse crops may be worth a try.

“You don’t have to grow a 100% of your acres, but whether it’s peas or lentils or chickpeas or beans on your acreage, you should try a little bit,” he says. “It should be part of your cropping system. And that’s really what our aim is when we increase consumption, we know acreage is going to follow.”

He says their newest member of USA Pulses is actually from Nebraska, and is a farmer who’s traditionally grown mostly corn and soybeans.

“But there are a lot of farmers that are trying it, the acreage is small in Nebraska, but they’re growing and they’re seeing that the crop diversity that they have on their farms is really important. And pulses are entering into that.”

Beans

Can Pulse Crops Double Acreage by 2030? The Push to Include More Pulses in the MAHA Movement