More Hummus, Please: U.S. Chickpea Acres Seen Climbing to Record
- U.S. planting expected to rise 53 percent from prior season
- Plant-based protein is ‘gaining a lot of steam’: Technomic
The hummus craze is hitting the heartland, with U.S. farmers preparing to sow more chickpeas than ever before.
Plantings are expected to climb 53 percent from the prior season to 498,000 acres (202,000 hectares), the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. While the amount is minuscule compared with major row crops -- corn will be planted on 180 times the area -- chickpea acreage has more than doubled since 2013, and this year’s percentage increase in planting was among the largest of the commodities surveyed.