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.