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American Pulses, an agricultural business that's invested millions in Montana, wants to expand even further across the state.

The company says that furthering its investment in Big Sky country will not only benefit small town economies, but also crops and land in those communities.

The company has already put $7-million dollars into a facility in Hingham and plans to expand with more facilities across the Hi-Line and Montana.

American Pulses produces pulse crops like lentils and peas that build up nitrogen in soil to eliminate disease and insect cycles in fields, creating a better environment for other crops like wheat, a main export of the state.

Construction on a container handling facility in Shelby is expected to start in the next few months; the addition will allow producers to prepare crops for shipping, which could save 15% in transportation costs.

Statewide expansion will create an estimated 60 jobs.

The company currently holds contracts with 25 Hutterite colonies and in this year's harvest season the company had a contracted 20,000 acres.

American Pulses estimates contracts with more colonies and over 100,000 acres during the next harvest.

Learn more about pulses at the FAO website, including this overview:

Pulses are the edible dry seeds of leguminous plants. They are of special nutritional and economic importance due to their contribution to the diets of millions of people worldwide. The main importance of pulses lies primarily in their high protein content (two to three times higher than most cereals) as well as in being a valuable source of energy. In addition, pulses contain good amounts of nutritionally essential minerals such as calcium and iron. The use of pulses as food is concentrated in developing countries, accounting for about 90 percent of global human pulse consumption. In most low income countries, pulses contribute about 10 percent of the daily protein and about 5 percent of energy intakes in the diets of people.

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