Industry officials say the pending sale of $7.5 million worth of peas and lentils to Cuba might help maintain interest in the crops at a time when high market prices are steering many acres to wheat, corn and soybeans.

Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, who is leading a North Dakota trade delegation to the island nation this week, said Thursday that Cuba is buying about 12,000 tons of peas and lentils.

"We're elated," said Larry White, marketing director for the Northern Pulse Growers Association, which represents farmers in North Dakota and Montana. "Selling that much product again, that's a huge benefit to the growers in the pulse industry in North Dakota.

"We're pleased with the sale and happy that the Cubans are still in the mix for buying our products," he said.

Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is relinquishing power to his brother, Raul. Johnson said that should not affect North Dakota's efforts to sell farm products to the Communist country.

The Agriculture Department said that most of the peas and lentils that will be sold to Cuba will come from North Dakota, though officials could not supply a specific percentage. Johnson said the Cubans "appreciate both the quality and reliable supply."

White said Cuba is mainly interested in peas. He said 12,000 tons is about 12,000 acres worth of pea production. Last year, North Dakota farmers harvested about 500,000 acres of the crop.

"About 12,000 acres in one (trade) deal - that's pretty substantial," White said.

Dry edible pea production set a record in North Dakota last year, at 10.4 million hundredweight, up 12 percent from 2006, according to Agriculture Department data. Lentil production rose 10 percent to 1.34 million hundredweight.

North Dakota typically leads the country in the production of the two crops, growing nearly three-fourths of the nation's dry peas and more than one-third of its lentils. Dry peas and lentils have made up most of North Dakota's sales since state producers began selling farm products to Cuba six years ago.

Ryder farmer Stan Myers, chairman of the North Dakota Dry Pea and Lentil Council, said the sale announced Thursday "keeps our foot in the door, providing peas to Cuba."

Pea acres in the state dropped nearly 15 percent from 2006 to 2007, primarily because of other crops that rivaled peas for profitability. But both Myers and White said they expect peas and lentils to continue to have a strong presence in the state, especially in the central and northwestern regions.

Anytime there is a significant sale such as the one announced Thursday, "that helps keep the interest there," Myers said.

Johnson said he also is trying to complete a seed potato sale to Cuba, and the trade group is talking about deals for dry beans and also dried distillers' grains, which are a byproduct of ethanol production.

"With North Dakota projected to triple its ethanol production over the next couple of years, we should have plenty of this co-product for sale," Johnson said.