Prodded by the largest U.S. hummus maker, farmers in the heart of tobacco country are trying to grow chickpeas, an improbable move that reflects booming demand for hummus.
Sabra Dipping Co., a joint venture of PepsiCo Inc. and Israel's Strauss Group Ltd., wants to cultivate a commercial crop in Virginia to reduce its dependence on the legume's main U.S. growing region—the Pacific Northwest—and to identify new chickpea varieties for its dips and spreads.
For Sabra, which makes hummus at a plant near Richmond, Va., a secondary source of supplies could help protect the company if a chickpea shortage occurred because of crop failures in Washington or Idaho. Sourcing chickpeas locally also would lower its shipping costs. But the Virginia effort carries risk, because experts say the state's high summer humidity could prove a significant obstacle to its viability.North Dakota is probably #4 in chickpeas. Washington State #1, Idaho #2; Montana #3.
Federal government price support is about 11 cents per pound, not enough to cover the cost of growing chickpeas.
It looks like the price of chickpeas is nearing 22 cents per pound vs the "typical price of about 15 cents."
Scholz said chickpea seeds are more expensive, harvested later and prone to disease.
I mentioned this a couple days ago but felt it deserved a stand-alone post. Especially if tweeted by the WSJ.
"It's a little more expensive and a little more risky crop, but it has returned an incredible amount of money over the last two or three years for our farmers in Washington and Idaho, so they're expanding their production," Scholz said.
Hummus, done right, is incredible. And, some American company will eventually market flavored/textured hummus to appeal to Americans, sort of like "they" did with processed cheese. Done right, it really is delicious.
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