At Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza Campo de Tejada, we also produce beans and peas. Both of these belong to the family of protein crops and they are a relatively important proportion of our farmers’ production.

The process for the cultivation of peas and beans is quite similar, since both are seeds with a high protein content. The main difference between the two is to be found in the sowing period.

In the case of beans, sowing takes place between 1 and 15 November, while peas are sown later, from 1 December until the end of the month.

Peas prefer soil which is loose, well aerated and friable. For their part, beans need, above all, deep tillage to prepare the land and to reach a crop depth of between 25 and 40 centimetres.

With respect to the volume of protein crop production at our Cooperative, this varies with the species. Our bean producers grow around 600 to 700 tonnes on a crop area of approximately 500 hectares. Our pea producers, on the other hand, cultivate some 100 hectares in order to achieve a crop of 200 tonnes of the product.

From these figures, it can be seen that bean production is currently significantly

higher than that of peas. However, they are destined to the same end purpose, both being used for animal feed.

The market demand for these products is perfectly defined. In most cases, they are sent to animal feed plants, although many livestock farmers also buy the products directly from the Cooperative.