Although Montana farmer Charlie Bumgarner had a lot of experience growing row crops like peas and wheat, the fourth-generation farmer was cautious about adding chickpeas to his crop rotation. 

“For a long time, chickpeas weren’t a staple in American diets, so we didn’t have a lot of production,” he explains.

In 2012, Bumgarner planted the first fields of chickpeas at his Bumgarner Ranch in Great Falls. The legumes fast became a staple crop.

“Pulses, and chickpeas in particular, have been good to us,” he notes.

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A new U.S. dietary staple? 

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a longtime staple in South Asian and Middle Eastern diets, but only started to become more popular in the United States over the last decade.

Tony Roelofs, the vice president of the Pulse Division at Columbia Grain International — the world’s leading supplier of bulk grain, pulses, edible beans and oilseeds — credits hummus, a dip made from mashed chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and tahini, with providing consumers an introduction to the legumes in local markets.

As the interest in plant-based diets has increased, so has the demand for chickpea production. USA Pulses, a nonprofit trade association, notes that the crop is currently grown in nine states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

“In the last five years, the number of acres of chickpea production in the United States has increased substantially,” Roelofs says. “Many producers are incorporating them into their crop rotation.”

Bumgarner started with 300 acres and has since ramped up production to 2,000 acres of chickpeas. He’s among an increasing number of growers who have expanded their acreage to keep up with demand.

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From field to table

For growers, chickpeas offer numerous benefits. The legumes are drought-resistant, require few inputs and fix nitrogen in the soil. An annual crop, they are often part of a rotation with other row crops, like wheat. Chickpea seeds are planted in April, and the pulses (the dried, edible seeds that grow in pods) are harvested in September. After harvest, growers sell their chickpeas to processing facilities to ensure the crops get from field to table.

Bumgarner averages 25 bushels per acre on his Montana farm, with yields topping 40 bushels per acre during above-average harvests. Increased production in the fields highlighted a need for additional processing infrastructure to support growers and get the chickpeas to market.

“We needed the infrastructure to expand acreage to keep up with demand,” Bumgarner says.

Companies like CGI helped develop that infrastructure by creating markets and investing in elevators and processing plants closer to his farm, making pulses an economically viable crop to produce.

CGI, which is one of the largest processors and exporters of pulses in the U.S., owns and operates a network of processing plants across the northern part of the country. At their facilities, legumes are processed and cleaned to remove impurities, such as dust and stones. The chickpeas are then sent on to food manufacturers throughout the U.S. and around the globe for distribution, canning, packaging, grinding into flour and producing a variety of grocery products.

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Cultivating new markets

Hummus might have sparked the initial interest in chickpeas, but the growing interest in plant-based proteins helped make the legume even more popular.

Chickpeas are often hailed as an ideal replacement for meat in vegan and vegetarian diets, but the powerful pulses aren’t just popular with those on specific diets. In fact, a nationwide interest in healthy, sustainable protein alternatives has allowed chickpeas to develop major staying power.

7 delicious chickpea-based foods that aren’t hummus

“It’s a healthy, nutritious whole food ingredient and a fantastic source of plant-based protein,” Roelofs says.

Chickpeas are also an excellent source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, and their nutty flavor and texture pair well with a range of foods from salads to soups and stews. The once under-the-radar nutritional standout is also starting to take up significant space on store shelves.

Roelofs credits the creativity of consumer-packaged goods companies that have incorporated chickpeas into an ever-increasing number of products — from pizza crusts, pastas and baked goods, to snack foods like roasted chickpeas and chickpea chips. 

As long as consumers have an appetite for chickpeas, Bumgarner will continue growing the crop.

“It’s a global product, and there are a lot of good markets,” he says. “Once people try them, they are surprised at how good they taste.”