Field peas need to go through only a minimal amount of processing to be effective as a protein supplement in diets for feedlot heifers, a North Dakota State University (NDSU) study shows.

Researchers at NDSU's Carrington Research Extension Center found that the test heifers fed a corn-based diet that included dry-rolled peas gained weight the fastest, consumed the most feed and were the fattest at slaughter.

The researchers compared dry-rolled, whole and ground peas. The dry-rolling process breaks the peas into small pieces, which are easier for cattle to digest, but not so small that they will create the digestive upsets that finely ground peas can cause.

Dry-rolled peas also produced the best gains in creep-fed calves, compared with ground or whole peas, when researchers added peas as 40 percent of the feed ration formula. Researchers are continuing the creep feed studies with an evaluation of pelleted creep feeds that include peas.

Studies like this are important because North Dakota has a growing supply of field peas available for use in cattle diets at good prices, according to Vern Anderson, an animal scientist and principal investigator in the field pea research.

"There is a significant supply of peas available this year and prices are very competitive with other feeds," he says. The North Dakota Dry Pea and Lentil Association can help interested feeders find a source of peas.

North Dakota producers planted 530,000 acres of field peas this year, up from 310,000 acres last year, and they expect to plant even more next year. The state is the nation's No. 1 producer of field peas.

"Field peas support excellent animal performance and can be used in a wide variety of livestock diets," Anderson says. "Peas are an extremely attractive feed, especially for creep feeds and receiving diets. We have had great success using peas in rations for growing and finishing cattle, winter supplementation for cows and also for bull rations."

Blaine Schatz, director of the Carrington Research Extension Center, says pea production is increasing because producers are beginning to realize that field peas grow well in the northern Great Plains and work well in their crop rotation. And, as field peas become more widely known and accepted as feed, producers will be able to market their product more readily to regional livestock producers.

Field peas, also known as dry peas, are marketed as a dry, shelled product for human food or as livestock feed. They differ from fresh peas, which are marketed as a fresh or canned vegetable for human consumption.

Research on field peas is continuing at the Carrington Research Extension Center on stepped levels of peas included in feedlot rations. That research will culminate in a taste panel evaluation of beef. NDSU researchers soon plan to produce a publication summarizing field pea research for beef cattle.