Victorian farmers are planting lentils at a rate of 70 per cent above the 10-year average, even as prices have dropped almost 30 per cent in 12 months.

National lentil production was forecast to hit a record 2.2 million tonnes in 2026–27, more than double the 10-year average, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences figures.

Farmers in Victoria were planting 533,000ha while South Australia was contributing 600,000ha, taking the lentil area to new highs.

Nationally, lentils now covered more than a million hectares, up more than 5400 per cent from just 18,000ha in 2000.

Wimmera lentil grower Chris Drum has watched the transformation from the beginning, and remembers first sowing lentils in the 1980s, at a time not many others were.

“There are now people sowing lentils in places you would have never dreamt of sowing them five years ago,” the Bayena farmer said.

“They are even growing lentils at Lake Bolac.”

Mr Drum said the crop performed economically, was low input and worked in rotations, adding that lentils were underestimated earlier on.

Even in his own operation, where lentils accounted for 30 per cent of the winter crop mix, he has expanded to paddocks that he’d never grown them on before.

He said the increase in planting could be attributed to high nitrogen costs this year. Lentils did not require the levels of urea, at around $1200 to $1300 a tonne, that cereals such as wheat and barley did.

“If you look at the price compared to beans, lentils would have to stack up well,” he said.

Lentils are known for fixing their own nitrogen and typically require near-zero application of urea, with some farmers opting to put a small amount of diammonium phosphate out.

Carron farmer Jason Mellings said the number one driver was nitrogen and inputs.

At $660 a tonne in Melbourne this week, lentils were up 5 per cent on the December harvest price of $630 a tonne but still almost 30 per cent below the $910 a tonne growers were receiving this time last year, and down further still from the $990 a tonne highs recorded in Melbourne in 2024.

But Mr Mellings said lentils at mid-$600 a tonne still made sound commercial sense even after prices had eased significantly from their peak.

“If you grow a couple of tonne to the hectare, it is a good result,” he said.

The bigger question was what prices would do between now and harvest, with significant volumes still sitting in on-farm storage.

“Most people are looking for money and will start selling by harvest to empty out the storages,” he said.

Lake Bolac farmer and Gorst Rural director Cam Conboy said lentils had made it to the Western District but not in large proportions.

“Traditionally this area would grow zero lentils, but there are a couple of growers who have planted them in recent dry years,” he said.