UK crops and animal feed

Protein crops, legumes and pulses

The Landworkers’ Alliance, Pasture for Life, Sustain and Hodmedod (2023)
We need to grow more protein crops in the UK: such as legumes (e.g. alfalfa and clover), pulses (e.g. fava beans and peas) and amino-acid rich grains (e.g. quinoa).

Legumes are plants that belong to the Fabaceae family, they are often used in farming systems as cover crops to protect the soil, improve fertility or as feed for livestock. When used to describe feed, legume means the whole plant. Pulses are the dry edible seeds of leguminous plants that end up on our plates or may end up in animal feed. Harvested when dry rather than green, pulses include chickpeas, beans, peas and lentils. Though
soy is a legume and harvested dry it’s classed as an oilseed rather than a pulse because of its fat content.

The case for more UK pulses

In 2024 DEFRA funded £3M for the development of UK-adapted beans and lentils

A report from the Processors and Growers Research Organisation

UK pulses are locked in a vicious cycle; we only grow them on 4% of UK croppable area. Because they are a minor crop by land use, they receive little attention and funding for productivity improvements. As a result, the quality of our yields are low, with just 10-20% being fit for human consumption, the rest being used for animal feed. This in turn provides little incentive for farmers to expand production, so they remain a minor crop.

Their inclusion in farming rotations by significantly improving biodiversity, crop productivity and soil fertility while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

There is currently almost no domestic human consumption of dry faba beans in the UK and production is
targeted at export for human consumption in Africa and the Middle East where they form a significant part
of the staple diet. Egypt alone imports approximately 800,000 tonnes annually, traditionally taking
approximately ¼ from the UK.

The UK has no pulse processing facilities.