The recently released USDA’s Vegetables and Melons Report pegs 2010 U.S. dry edible bean production up 6% from the initial August crop forecast.  Good harvest weather helped ‘up’ national production of all dry beans by 29% over last year to an estimate of 32.6 million cwt.  This would be the fourth largest dry bean crop on record with large crops forecast for North Dakota, Minnesota, and Washington.  National yield is estimated to be a record 17.83 bags (cwt) per acre.
Eight bean classes including pinto, navy, Great Northern, black, garbanzo, pink, and dark red kidney should see good to outsized increased. 
Prices were slow to develop during harvest with growers reluctant sellers.  Considerable uncertainty remains in most dry bean markets with regard to pricing. 
Read more of the story here

Editors note:  Given the sustained surge in prices for competing commodities such as wheat, corn, soys, cotton etc. and their relative attractiveness for ‘good margins’ next season and the moribund bean prices being shown to and expected for growers in the 2010/11 season one can only predict a sharp drop in planted acres next season.

District Annual meetings of the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board will be held as follows:

District 1 & 2 growers from Essex, Kent, Lambton, Middlesex/London, Brant, Elgin, Hamilton/Wentworth, Oxford, and all of the Niagara peninsula are invited to attend.

District 1 & 2
Date:     Wednesday November 24^th, 2010
Time:     12:30 (Noon)
Place:    Best Western Stone Ridge Inn (London ON)

District 3&4 comprising counties Huron, and Perth as well as all counties north (along Wellington Rd. 109) and east to the Quebec boarder.

District 3&4
Date:     Thursday November 25^th, 2010
Time:     7:30 PM
Place:    Seaforth curling club – Seaforth ON.

Come for the business session to receive the annual report, hear reports from the directors and staff on the Board’s activities over the past year and elect the next slate of directors.  Detailed agenda to follow.

2010 Premium (Ontario ) rates
($/unit) by coverage level

  For deadlines, premium rates, support levels and the program handbook click here

Statistics Canada puts white bean output at 103,000 tonnes, up from their July forecast of 93,200 and well above their last year’s crop estimate of 67,200 Mt.  Coloured bean production however, is pegged at 134,800 tonnes, down the July estimate of 149,700 and below the 2009 crop of 153,000.
The Syngenta Farm website has the full story here .