In this Aug. 28, 2013 file photo, Florentino Ornelas, mill assistant at Blue Mountain Seed in Walla Walla, Wash., unloads chickpeas for processing at the plant.
Acreage devoted to chickpeas has exploded in the past decade in Washington and Idaho, which grow some two-thirds of the nation's supply. Chickpeas require little water, and that's a major plus in the dry region. (AP Photo/Tri-City Herald, Paul T. Erickson, File)
