The Ag-Alert hotline reports new crop dry bean values are posted at one major buyer: for White Pea (Navy) beans at $33/cwt with blacks around $34. Kidneys and Crans between $35-39.
[Editor’s note: rumors from the country indicate that prices could improve by 1 to 2 dollars per bag to get growers interested in growing dry beans next year.]

Stat Publishing in their full story under ’Strong Finish For Edible Beans’ make an interesting observation:
“There is a growing belief world markets are facing a shortage of white beans because of production problems in both China and Argentina.”
As well the article notes that Black beans may be facing limited stocks.
Editor’s note: — The white beans referenced may be the larger seeded Alubia types or other smaller white seed coated beans that would compete against Small White Beans, Navy (White Pea) Beans or Great Northern type beans from North America.  This comes on the heels of a sharp reduction in White Pea (navy) bean production in North America.

Minnesota had a BIG (profitable) year growing navy beans, says The Land. Some yields exceeding 3,000 lbs/acre. Contract pricing at US$27/cwt., with production costs (including land) of about $350/acre. Net profit went through the roof.
The entire story can be read here.
[Editor's note: This will be Ontario's and other North American production zones competition in the future. ]

In a crop production report released today (Oct. 9th) the USDA showed aggregated (all) dry edible bean production as slightly higher than the August report. Meanwhile Farm Services (another USA reporting system) reportedly showed aggregate white pea bean (Navy) acres some 25,000 less than the USDA’s August numbers.
Using Farm Service’s numbers and adding in currently accepted Ontario and Manitoba numbers total North American acres devoted to White Beans could be just shy of 300,000 acres!
Meanwhile harvest has hit a speed bump for most areas as weather turned wet during the last week of September – particularly in Ontario. Preliminary indications suggest 40% of that province’s crop is in. Reasonably good quality for the first 3 harvest weeks but some disease issues bumping up pick. However with the wet weather and later maturing crop there are and will be more problems with quality and quantity of beans delievered.
Meanwhile a strong Canadian dollar keeps a lid on prices that had weakened because of some early harvest pressure.
Strong values for competing crops such as black beans and possibly soybeans have some market watchers wondering if the current depressed price of White Beans (~$32.00/Cnd/100lb –Ontario grower) will be sufficient to bring growers to the table in 2010 or will the white bean acreage just fade from the Ontario croping scene.