Complete Dry Bean Grower Surveys

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The 2019 Dry Bean Grower Survey of Production, Pest Problems and Pesticide Use has been mailed. The survey is a cooperative effort between the Northarvest Bean Growers Association and the NDSU Extension Service and made possible through a grant from Northarvest.

Results from this survey are important and provide dry bean growers and invested stakeholders with information about grower practices in North Dakota and Minnesota. It also helps identify research and pesticide registration priorities. Survey responses are kept completely anonymous. View the 2018 survey results.

RMA to Defer Interest on Crop Insurance Premiums

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To help farmers hurt by the extreme weather, USDA’s Risk Management Agency will defer the accrual of interest on 2019 crop insurance premiums until the end of January. USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey made that announcement at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. The Agriculture Department had previously announced a deferral until November 20 from the established September 30 deadline. Northey, who spent time last week in Minnesota and North Dakota, said the extension is needed due to the very delayed harvest.

Dry Bean Scene

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The biennial meeting of the Bean Improvement Cooperative took place in Fargo, North Dakota November 4 and 5. Disease resistance and nutrition were two talking points among researchers, organizations and other in attendance. Get the details in the Dry Bean Scene on the Red River Farm Network made possible, in part, by the Northarvest Bean Growers Association.

BIC Meeting Brings a Worldwide Presence to Fargo, ND

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Over 150 researchers, organizations and bean industry professionals representing 12 countries gathered in Fargo, North Dakota for the Bean Improvement Cooperative biennial meeting. North Dakota State University plant pathologist Julie Pasche says the last time this meeting was held in Fargo was 2001. “There are both different challenges and the same challenges in bean production across the world. We learn from those challenges,” says Pasche.

Phil Mikals, a dry bean research geneticist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, is the current BIC president. Miklas says disease resistance is a top talking point “A lot of these diseases are world wide. For diseases that are a problem in the U.S., the expertise may be in South Africa or somewhere else.” Another area is nutrition. “In the last ten years, bean have shown to have health benefits beyond just fiber and folate.”

Listen to the story.

Federal Reserve Cuts Benchmark Interest Rate

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The Federal Reserve has cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percent. This is the third interest rate deduction this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also indicated interest rates will likely stay at current levels unless the economy takes a sharp downturn.

AgCountry Farm Credit Services is also reducing interest rates on variable rate loans starting December 1. According to AgCountry President and CEO Marc Knisely, this move will help better position farmers during the current economic challenges. The decision comes following the announcement by the Federal Reserve.

TransFARMation: Faith and Farming

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With low commodity markets and continued harvest delays, farm stress is a reality. In the latest TransFARMation podcast, Bishop Bill Tesch of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has an acronym he commonly shares: ACE – Ask, Care, Escort. “Ask the question, offer care and escort or help them get to the services they need.” If you or someone you know is wrestling with a challenge that’s more powerful than yourself, a list of resources is available on this page.

Northarvest Bean Growers Association Awards Scholarships

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The Northarvest Bean Growers Association is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of two, $1,000 scholarships to support the children and/or grandchildren of Northarvest growers. The 2019 recipients are Jack Camrud of Buxton, North Dakota and John Huechert of St. Thomas, North Dakota.
 
Jack Camrud is the son of Rick and Jill Camrud and is a sophomore studying economics at the University of North Dakota. Jack was active in a number of activities while a student at Central Valley High School, including football, basketball, golf and student council.
 
John Heuchert is the son of Carlton and Stacey Huechert and is a freshman at the University of Minnesota Crookston studying agriculture systems management. Jack was also an active student at St. Thomas High School, serving as yearbook and newspaper editor, class president and a student council representative.
 
Upon graduation, Jack and John both express that they hope to return to their respective family farming operations.
 
In order to be eligible for the NBGA scholarship, a parent or grandparent must be a current grower member of the NBGA, be enrolled or plan to enroll in the first year of college or technical college, and have at least a 3.0 grade point average from high school. Both Camrud and Huechert will be recognized at Bean Day, which will be held Friday, January 17, 2020 at the Holiday Inn Fargo.

Prevent Plant ‘Top Up’ Payments to be Paid in October

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Farmers who filed a prevent plant claim will automatically receive a ‘top-up’ payment. A ten percent payment will be made to farmers with Yield Protection and Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Option. Those with Revenue Protection will receive 15 percent.

“This has been such a tremendously tough year for producers and frankly, insurance guarantees aren’t as high as we’d like them based on the low commodity prices,” said Martin Barbre, administrator, Risk Management Agency. Barbre says the crop insurance companies will begin making the ‘top-up’ payments in mid-October. “I applaud the companies for stepping up and signing this agreement to bring these important funds to their producers.

USDA RMA Press Release

Goehring Seeks Changes in NASS Reporting

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North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has broad support for a resolution that he has introduced to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. “It is requesting and urging the National Agricultural Statistics Service to use RMA data to help identify the gaps that exist in their reporting.” Goehring spoke at an Ihry Insurance meeting Wednesday night in Hillsboro, ND.

The agriculture commissioner says there is a lot of frustration with NASS. “There needs to be a better job emphasizing what type of report is being issued because the trade reacts and sends the market into a tailspin. It is doing more harm to our farmers psychologically and on their balance sheet.”

International Dry Bean and Pulse Research Meetings Coming to Fargo

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Dry bean and pulse researchers from North Dakota State University and the USDA-ARS Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center in Fargo are hosting the 2019 Bean Improvement Cooperative (BIC) and North American Pulse Improvement Association (NAPIA) biennial meetings back-to-back at the Radisson Hotel in Fargo in November. The BIC meeting will be November 3-6 and the NAPIA meeting will be November 6-8.

Both meetings will include oral and poster presentations by faculty and graduate students, a banquet or luncheon, awards ceremonies, organizational business meetings, social and networking events, and optional tours of NDSU research facilities and local Fargo food production industries.

Learn more about the meetings.