Outreach & Promotion
The Bean Institute
The consumer marketing & informational arm of NBGA is The Bean Institute. The website, social media channels, and its social media plan was developed on behalf of Northarvest by Communique, Inc.
The goal is to consistently grow the Bean Institute’s reach online and to be the easy source for bean nutritional information as well as bean-related recipes.
The expanding community has been grown by targeting home cooks, culinary and foodservice professionals, nutrition educators, and school nutrition professionals with timely, impactful messaging and resources.
Follow and subscribe at BeanInstitute.com.
NBGA works Communique, Inc. to provide consumers, dietitians, nutritionists, and food industry professionals with up-to-date information and strength the promotion of dry beans as a delicious and nutritious lifestyle. This partnership provides the following nutrition research and promotion:
- Northarvest also supports the continued development, maintenance, and addition of new content to the Bean Institute website. Communique’s services include monitoring of the web and keeping it fresh, responding to visitors’ questions and requests, adding all materials as they become available, and monitoring of website traffic to analyze usage data.
- The monthly Bean Institute e-newsletter promotes bean-centric recipes, as well as nutritional information written specifically for consumers by a registered dietitian.
northarvest joined the mn bbq society for the 2nd time to hold a people's choice bean dish competition in st peter, mn.
May 2026: The weather was sunny but windy for the 2 day MN in May BBQ Competition. Meat reigned supreme on Saturday but beans were the highlight on Friday night. 40 teams competed for best bean dish and the winner, bringing home prize money and a fantastic trophy, is Iowa's Smokey D's!
northarvest gives away bush's beans at scheel's nd bbq competition.
May 2026: Bush Beans donated a pallet of beans to give away at Scheel's ND BBQ Competition! While the BBQ teams were busy cooking their meats there were over 40 vendors handing out delicious samples in the parking lot of Scheel's Home and Hardware in Fargo. Lots of people showed up to enjoy the beautiful weather and we did a brisk bean business. The pallet of beans was gone in 4 hours with 500 cans gone in the first hour alone! Thanks Bush's Beans!!
northarvest sponsors a People's choice bean dish competition amongst the bbq teams at scheel's Nd bbq competition in fargo, nd.
May 2026: 36 teams entered bean dishes and the public came out to vote! It was a lively night at Scheel's Home and Hardware on 13th Ave as people enjoyed samples of terrific bean dishes entered by some of the best BBQ competitors in the world! First place was awarded to Brotherhood of the Burning Wood!
northarvest sponsors 'battle of the beans' in glyndon, mn.
April 2026: Six teams competed in a battle of bean recipes at Glyndon High School. Also in attendance was Thom Peterson, the Commissioner of Agriculture for Minnesota who announced the winner. Maggie's Hometown Tavern from Hendrum, MN was both the people's choice and the Best in Show winner with their Tuscan White Bean & Sausage Skillet. It was delicious!
northarvest is presented with an award from national extension association.
April 2026: Jennifer Hansen was awarded the 2026 Friend of NDEAFCS at their annual luncheon in Fargo. Northarvest loves working with NDSU Extension, they are very passionate and professional people who care deeply about North Dakota.
AG IN THE CLASSROOM & Living Ag classroom
Winter 2026: NBGA participated in Living Ag Classrooms in Jamestown, Minot, Bismarck, and West Fargo. We reached close to 4,000 4th graders in 75 schools!
Chef Taste of the valley
Fall 2025: Northarvest was out at the farm! Doubting Thomas farm in Moorhead, MN for the 3rd annual Chef Taste of the Valley. Participants were treated to local vendors selling their super-fresh wares and we were there with our super-popular plinko trivia and legume banner. Everyone also partook in the incredible dishes prepared by local chef Candace Stock.
Minnesota State Fair
Summer 2025. Northarvest was proud to partner with Renewing the Countryside at The Great Minnesota Get-Together! The theme was plant protein, so we were the perfect fit. We brought our Plinko Trivia game and had a blast with the thousands of people that passed through the Eco-Experience building.
Bismarck Pride of Dakota Winter Show
Winter 2025: Northarvest was invited to participate in the Pride of Dakota show in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Ag in the Class program (through the Department of Agriculture) entertained kids and adults with various projects utilizing some of the great commodities that North Dakota grows. We brought along some Bean Lifecycle Keychains and showed kids the importance of each step in the growing process.
BBQ anyone?
Fall 2025: Northarvest partnered with Scheel's Home and Hardware to have its first ever People's Choice Bean Dish competition the night before the Scheel's ND BBQ competition. 26 teams submitted their tasty Bean dishes on Friday night and we were there Saturday also giving away some new flavors from Bush's Beans! We look forward to next year.
Various Regional & National Promotion Activities
Throughout the year, Northarvest supports various regional and national trade shows, development and communications programs and marketing promotions. Below is a short list of the different types of regional and national promotion activities that Northarvest supports:
- Northarvest sponsored several regional trade shows, including Living Ag Classroom, NDSU Harvest Bowl, Eat Smart Play Hard.
- Northarvest works with the Red River Farm Network (RRFN) to keep growers updated on important Dry Bean & agricultural issues with “The Dry Bean Scene” radio segment, which is also made available online.
- The Northarvest Bean Growers Association sponsors the North Dakota Agriculture magazine, which showcases agriculture throughout the state.