The June 29^th Thompsons crop update here has the bean crop in good to excellent condition in the major growing regions.  Growing conditions have been excellent since the crop went in at the beginning of June with good to almost surplus soil moisture.
 Recent warm weather has the bean crop responding well with some fields progressing into the second trifoliate stage of growth.  Crop stands are generally good.

[Editor’s note: OMAFRA reports some insect problems surfacing (leaf hopper and Potato leaf beetle) and it would not be surprising to hear of some mold, root rot or similar wet weather disease problems popping up after the recent rain storms that have inundated Manitoba, Michigan and Ontario.]

Stat Pub is reporting “weather concerns” with international bean crops. There are concerns about both Argentina’s and China’s crops.

Argentina’s white alubia bean crop could see reduced average size or similar caliber issues, while rains are delaying and may impact the overall quality of the Black bean harvest.

Argentine Cranberry beans may experiencing similar caliber problems with that crop.

Some reports from China show concern over disease risk to bean crops.  Detailed information about acreage, crop development, prospective yields and crop quality is fragmented.

June 30 is the last day to submit 2008 AgriStability forms and corporate Statement A forms to Agricorp.

It is also the deadline to report grain and oilseed acres for PI and RMP. Farmers must report acreage immediately upon completion of planting of spring seeded crops or by June 30, 2009, except buckwheat, which is due July 31, 2009.

June 30 is also deadline for reporting acreage for several Production Insurance (PI) plans.

For the “on line” version click here

[Editor’s note: June 30^th is also the deadline for White Pea Bean producers to declare their ‘elections’ as to whether they are growing beans to be marketed directly through a dealer or whether their production will be going through the Pool.]

Private and government reports suggest that North American dry bean plantings are approaching completion (95%+) as of the beginning of this week.  Plant emergence and development has been slow due to cool and below trend temperatures as well as wetter than normal conditions in some cases.  Indicated seed sales show a sizable drop in Ontario acres while less steep declines are showing in other areas. Preliminary indications could have North America planting just over 300,000 acres.  This is the lowest level since North America touched a recent memory low of 301,300 in 2003.  If carry-over stocks are indeed just shy of 2 million bags, then average yield across all production zones in North America will need to be 17 bags/ac. in order to fulfill the global baseline demand of 6.3 million bags and allow a reasonable carry-out into 2010.

OMAFRA reports edible bean planting was 75% complete as of June 10th. Early planted beans are emerging, with some issues on heavier soil types due to soil crusting (after repeated rain storms washed over the area).

Reports emanating from Manitoba have growers there assessing whether to replant fields damaged by frost over the weekend.

Spotty areas in affected fields may not be worthwhile reseeding however there are some bean fields around the province where producers would benefit from reseeding.

Fields just freshly planted will not be affected while those past the first unifoliate stage may survive.  However those fields that were just at that first unifoliate stage are likely done-in.

The full extent of the damage, interim and long term (harvest potential) may not be known for some time

Agricorp is reminding producers about the June 15 deadline to report unseeded acres.

Report unseeded acres for spring-seeded grains and oilseeds!

If you are eligible for the Unseeded Acreage Benefit (USAB), and are not able to plant all of your acreage, you must contact Agricorp by June 15 to report a USAB claim.  Producers may be eligible for USAB compensation under both Production Insurance and the Risk Management Program

The June 8 crop update from Thompsons has crop planting progress for the various regions.  It would appear that growers have cut back significantly on acres this year, judging by how quickly the percent planting has progressed.

The weather remains cool and wet in the great lakes basin while the western regions experienced record cold temperatures – in some cases frost and snow cover.

Wet conditions hamper edible bean planting progress.  So goes a post to pembinavalleyonline.com.  Planting progress is behind normal particularly in the southern part of the Red River Valley while bean seeding in the Portage area is nearly on schedule.

Statpub.com carrys a report indicating that seeding the US dry bean crop is proceeding slower than a year ago and cooler temperatures have slowed crop emergence. 

[Editor's note: Abundant to surplus moisture along with below average temperatures are doing much the same in Ontario.  Anecdotal reports would suggest that Manitoba’s dry bean cropping area has similar conditions.]