With 394,667 acres devoted to peas farming, North Dakota leads the nation in the production of field peas, or “dried peas”. More than half of the field peas grown in the United States are grown in North Dakota, with the remainder of peas farming concentrated in Montana, Washington, Idaho and California.
The cool temperatures in North Dakota are just fine for the field pea. In fact, the country that produces the most field peas in the world is Russia. Field peas are sold as dried peas for humans as well as feed for livestock. Due to their high protein content and easily digestible nutrients, dried peas are a healthy staple in the diet of both humans and animals.
Watching a pea harvest in North Dakota is a lot different than the harvest of your fresh garden peas. Instead of picking each pea one by one when they are fresh, a giant tractor harvests them after they have dried.