Gering Construction: Day 8

After a few days of this...

We had to wait for it to dry a bit before we could do this...

Yellow Split Pea Salad with Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

I found this recipe on a website called "Naturally Ella"  You can view it by clicking HERE.  I wanted to find something other than a soup recipe to use peas!  The photo is courtesy of her website also.

 

 

Yellow Split Pea Salad with Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

Author: Erin Alderson

Recipe type: salad

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• ½ cup yellow split peas
• 3-4 handfuls lettuce
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• ¼ cup pecans, toasted

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

 

Instructions

1. Sort through and rinse split peas. Add to a pot with water and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and then let cook for 30-45 minutes. Split peas should be tender but still hold their shape.
2. Once done, drain and let cool slightly.
3. In a jar with a lid, combine olive oil, vinegar, honey, and mustard. Shake until combined.
4. Toss split peas, lettuce, pecans, and goat cheese with a drizzle of dressing.

Notes

*I usually make a big batch of dressing and use it throughout the week. I’ll double and triple everything except the honey- which I usually add to taste for a hint of sweetness.

Field Pea Update

Here are some of the field pea fields and their progress so far...  Please remember that if you didn't get the herbicide on before your peas emerged, Raptor/Basagran/Grass Herbicide of Choice can be sprayed as soon as the peas have 3 pairs of leaves.

 

Gering Construction: Day 1

The first day of construction in Gering consisted of putting in a new electrical pole and trenching in new wire...

Pea Protein Popularity

The article below has some great information about the increasing popularity of pea protein as an ingredient in many different foods.  You can find the article on US News' website by clicking HERE.

The Power of Pea Protein

Pea protein is now being used in pasta, crackers, salad dressing, cereal and more. Here’s why.

By Frances Largeman-Roth May 28, 2013       

 

Let's consider the pea: small, green, relatively sweet. Though they're traditionally served and thought of as a vegetable – much to the chagrin of many children – peas are actually a legume and a good source of protein.

Frances Largeman-Roth

People are gaga for extra protein these days. More and more products are being formulated (or reformulated) to boost their protein content. Consumers are looking for food products with added protein for several reasons: Some think the product will provide a feeling of fullness, and therefore help promote weight loss. Others look to the nutrient to provide them, or their kids, with an energy boost. Baby Boomers seek it out to help preserve lean muscle mass.
In February, Larabar came out with ALT, an energy bar made with protein from peas, and it piqued my interest. I've been a dietitian for more than 15 years, but I had never heard of using peas as a protein source in bars or anything else. Most energy bars and mixes rely on protein from milk (whey or casein), egg whites or soy protein isolate, which is refined soybean protein. It turns out that peas have been used for a while in protein powder mixes, but with the rise of veganism, and concerns over soy and egg allergies, consumers are looking for protein that doesn't come from animal sources or soybeans. And now pea protein and pea protein isolates are being used to replace eggs, soy and dairy in a range of products, including pasta, crackers, salad dressing, cereal, smoothies and even (shocker!) brownies.

OK, so peas are a relatively cheap, easily renewable plant-based source of protein. How do they go from being a plump green orb to being something you might blend up in a smoothie? It turns out that the English pea – the sweet, green variety that comes in a pod – is not the type of pea being used in these new protein-packed products. Rather, the field pea is the new protein star. Field peas are grown for the purpose of drying, not to be eaten fresh, and can be either green or yellow. They are dried and often split and sold as "split peas." These same peas can be ground up, de-fatted, and then used as a powder. Pea protein is often combined with rice protein in products to make a complete protein.

So, should you try pea protein? If you're happy with your soy or whey-based energy bar or powder, then stick with what works! But if you have a soy allergy or are following a vegan diet, you may want to check it out. The Larabar ALT bar goes national in June, and I wouldn't be surprised if more companies jump on the pea bandwagon. Peas out.

Hungry for more? Write to eatandrun@usnews.com with your questions, concerns, and feedback.
Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, is a best-selling author and nationally recognized health expert, and the former Food and Nutrition Director at Health magazine for nearly eight years. Prior to that, she was part of the editorial team at the Discovery Health Channel and was managing editor at FoodFit.com. Frances is the author of Feed the Belly: The Pregnant Mom's Healthy Eating Guide and co-author of the best-selling The CarbLovers Diet and The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook. Her cookbook, Eating in Color: Delicious, Healthy Recipes for You and Your Family will be published in January 2014. Frances earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and completed her dietetic internship at Columbia University in New York.

Beans Lower Cholesterol - Men's Health Magazine

Click on the picture below to read this great article that was published in Men's Health Magazine!  Eat a serving of beans a day to drop your 'bad' cholesterol levels.

Pea-Fed Beef

Below is last page in a handout about feeding peas to cattle.  You can read the entire handout by clicking HERE.  This has some very interesting information about the quality of the meat when cattle are fed peas.  The tenderness and juiciness are both improved with peas. 

 

If you'd like to try some for yourself, one of our pea growers has several Pea-Fed Beef for sale that will go in on May 15th.  You can purchase a whole, 1/2 or 1/4 from him.  For more information, call Roger Rasmussen at 308-430-1926.

 

Trade Trip to Central America

The photos below are from the US Dry Bean Council trade mission to Central America in December 2013.  We visited importers, exporters, processors and traders in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador.  The council supports trade missions like this one every year to many regios of the world.  Please contact me if you would like more information on how to participate!

Walmart's dry bean aisle in Costa Rica.

Buying beans at a local Guatemalan market.

Nicaraguan bean fields.

Nicaraguan bean transportation.

Lake Atitlan - Guatemala

Nicaraguan red bean field.

Rice & beans in top right - called "Gallo Pinto" - typical Central American breakfast dish.

Grower Meeting Success!

 Stateline is about halfway through our scheduled grower meetings and we have presented to over 150 potential and current growers to date through 8 meetings!  We appreciate all of you coming out to hear what we have to say when it comes to dry bean markets & production as well as a field pea division update & production info.  If you haven't been able to make it to the meetings, you can find some of the handouts HERE.  We hope to see you soon as we make our way to Burlington, CO and Grant, NE next week for some workshops and conferences.

• February 4-5 - Booth at CCTA Conference in Burlington, CO - Click Here for Info
• Monday, February 10th - 9:00 AM - Legacy of the Plains Museum (Formerly Farm And Ranch Museum) - Gering, NE
• Tuesday, February 11th - 9:00 AM - Eagles Club - Kimball, NE
• Thursday, February 13th - Booth at NRCS Workshop in Holyoke, CO - Click Here for Info
• Wednesday, February 19th - 9:30 AM - Alliance Public Library - Alliance, NE
• Thursday, February 20th - Morrill/Mitchell, NE
• Tuesday, February 25th - 9:00 AM - Torrington, WY 

Dry Bean Direct Harvest Meeting - Grant, NE

Attention!  All Dry Bean Growers interested in Direct Harvest
An informational meeting is being put on by University of Nebraska Extension on direct harvesting dry beans and will be held at the

Perkins County Fairgrounds in Grant, NE

on Thursday, February 6th at 9:30 AM

 

In order to be counted for lunch - you must pre-register by January 31st!

There will be multiple speakers on topics including:

• Field Preparation
• Crop Insurance
• Weed Control
• Combine Header Operation
• Desiccants
• Estimating Harvest Loss
• Grower Panel - Q & A

Small Grower Meeting Updates - Bayard, Kimball

Below is the updated schedule for bean/pea meetings. FYI – Meetings in Blue are BEAN & PEA, Meetings in Orange are just FIELD PEA

We hope to see you soon at one of the meetings!

• Thursday, January 23rd – 8:30 AM MST– Valentino’s Meeting Room - Ogallala, NE
• Thursday, January 23rd – 2:30 PM CST– Carlson’s, 78910 Road 411, Gothenburg, NE (From Gothenburg, take Hwy 47 North 24 miles, turn East on Hwy 40, travel 1 mile and building is on the North side of the road)
• Friday, January 24th – 9:00 AM CST– Ag West Commodities, 415 West 4^th Ave. - Holdrege, NE
• Tuesday, January 28^th - 9:00 AM - American Legion – Bayard, NE
• Wednesday, January 29^th – 9:00 AM – Stateline Producers Office, 9260 South Railroad Ave. - Bridgeport, NE
• February 4-5 - Booth at CCTA Conference in Burlington, CO
• Monday, February 10th – 9:00 AM – Legacy of the Plains Museum (Formerly Farm And Ranch Museum) - Gering, NE
• Tuesday, February 11th - 9:00 AM - Eagles Club - Kimball, NE
• Thursday, February 13^th - Booth at NRCS Workshop in Holyoke, CO
• Wednesday, February 19th – 9:30 AM – Alliance Public Library - Alliance, NE
• Thursday, February 20th - Morrill/Mitchell, NE
• Tuesday, February 25th – 9:00 AM – Stateline Receiving Station, 4756 State Hwy 154 - Torrington, WY

Grower Meeting Update

Below is the updated schedule for bean/pea meetings.  FYI – Meetings in Blue are BEAN & PEA, Meetings in Orange are just FIELD PEA

We hope to see you soon at one of the meetings!

• Tuesday, January 21st – 9:30 AM – Room 167 at WNCC - Sidney, NE
•  Thursday, January 23rd – 8:30 AM MST– Valentino’s Meeting Room - Ogallala, NE
• Thursday, January 23rd – 2:30 PM CST–  Carlson’s, 78910 Road 411, Gothenburg, NE (From Gothenburg, take Hwy 47 North 24 miles, turn East on Hwy 40, travel 1 mile and building is on the North side of the road)
• Friday, January 24th – 9:00 AM CST– Ag West Commodities, 415 West 4^th Ave. - Holdrege, NE
• Tuesday, January 28^th – Bayard, NE
• Wednesday, January 29^th – 9:00 AM – Stateline Producers Office, 9260 South Railroad Ave. - Bridgeport, NE
• Monday, February 10th – 9:00 AM – Legacy of the Plains Museum (Formerly Farm And Ranch Museum) - Gering, NE
• Tuesday, February 11th - Kimball, NE
• Thursday, February 13^th or Friday, February 14th - Holyoke, CO  
• Wednesday, February 19th – 9:30 AM – Alliance Public Library - Alliance, NE
• Thursday, February 20th - Morrill/Mitchell, NE
• Tuesday, February 25th – 9:00 AM – Stateline Receiving Station, 4756 State Hwy 154 - Torrington, WY

Small Grower Meetings - Yellow Peas & Dry Beans

Below is the current Stateline Grower Meeting Schedule for both Pea & Bean Growers.  Some growing regions will only be pea meetings and others will cover both beans & peas.
 

The Meeting Program will include – Pea Production Presentation, Presentation and Discussion about Stateline and its new Pea Division, Pea & Bean Market Update, Production Costs, etc…

 

Thursday, January 16th – 9:30 AM – St. Peters Lutheran Church Hall - Mirage Flats, NE

Friday, January 17th - 10:30 AM – Martin Livestock Auction - Martin, SD

Tuesday, January 21st – 9:30 AM – Room 167 at WNCC - Sidney, NE

Thursday, January 23rd AM - Ogallala, NE

Thursday, January 23rd PM - Gothenburg, NE

Friday, January 24th – 9:00 AM – Ag West Commodities, 415 West 4^th Ave. - Holdrege, NE

Tuesday, January 28^th – Bayard, NE

Wednesday, January 29^th – 9:00 AM – Stateline Producers Office, 9260 South Railroad Ave. - Bridgeport, NE

Monday, February 10th – 9:00 AM – Legacy of the Plains Museum (Formerly Farm And Ranch Museum) - Gering, NE

Tuesday, February 11th - Kimball, NE

Friday, February 14th - Holyoke, CO

Wednesday, February 19th – 9:30 AM – Alliance Public Library - Alliance, NE

Thursday, February 20th - Morrill/Mitchell, NE

Tuesday, February 25th – 9:00 AM – Stateline Receiving Station, 4756 State Hwy 154 - Torrington, WY

 Visit StatelineProducers.com for updates or add your name to our email list if you’d like to receive email updates.