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2020 Dry Bean Grower Survey Highlights

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The 2020 Dry Bean Grower Survey of Production, Pest Problems and Pesticide Use provides important data on dry bean production, pest problems and pesticide use in Minnesota and North Dakota. Research and Extension faculty at North Dakota State University, along with directors of the Northarvest Bean Growers Association (NHBGA), develop the survey form.

Survey respondents provided information on over 146,000 dry bean acres in 2020, which represents nearly 14% of the 1.1 million acres planted in the Northarvest area.

In 2020, the two most popular varieties by class were:

  • Pinto: 1. Monterrey 2. Vibrant (slow-darkening)
  • Black: 1. Eclipse 2. Black Tails
  • Kidney: 1. Montcalm 2. Dynasty
  • Navy: 1. HMS Medalist 2. T-9905
  • Pink: 1. Floyd 2. Rosetta
  • Small Red: 1. Ruby 2. Merlot
  • Cranberry: 1. Etna 2. N/A
  • Great Northern: 1. Pegasus 2. Draco

More than 80% of growers used a soil test prior to fertilizer application, and 29.8% used site-specific nutrient management. Rhizobium inoculant use likely reflects the frequency of dry beans within a crop rotation system. In 2020, 23.5% of growers used inoculant.

Frost was the most commonly reported production problem and affected 22% of the surveyed Northarvest acreage. Growers reported an average yield loss of 14.7% due to frost damage. Water damage and diseases were the next most commonly reported production problems.

For pests, 41% of reported acres had no insect problems. For dry bean acres that experienced insect problems, grasshoppers (44%) were the most frequently reported followed by leafhoppers (29.3%) and cutworms (10.6%).

White mold was the most commonly reported disease, affecting 49.7% of dry bean acres, while common bacterial blight was reported on 19.6% of dry bean acres and root rot on 5.1% of dry bean acres. No disease problems were reported on 13.6% of dry bean acres. At least one foliar fungicide application was applied to 89% of dry bean acres.

Kochia was the most commonly occurring weed and was reported on 22.8% of dry bean acres. Ragweed (19%), lambsquarters (17.3%) and waterhemp (10.1%) were the next most common weeds. While herbicide use is the most important weed control tactic, several growers incorporate non-herbicide weed control strategies. Cultivation was used by 20.9% of growers, cover crops by 7.7%, manual labor by 7.7%, and rotary hoe by 4.7%.

A grant from NHBGA funded the survey, including a grand prize drawing for participants who responded to the survey. This year, Wade Hanson of Crookston, Minnesota won the $500 drawing.

Grower Survey to Assess Herbicide Drift Damage in the North Central U.S.

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Dicamba and 2,4-D drift have made headlines in recent years, but no study to-date has attempted to quantify the overall impact that herbicide drift has on growers of fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops.
 
A special project group of the North Central Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Center is conducting a survey this winter to gather information on herbicide drift damage and risk-management among specialty crop growers in the North Central U.S. Responses will help establish needs for research on drift mechanisms, prevention, and remediation; and/or for reviewing current policy and reporting requirements.
 
This survey is:
  • open to growers of fruits, vegetables, or other specialty crops in OH, IN, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO, KS, NE, ND, and SD.
  • intended to document the risk, frequency, management, and economic impact of drift damage among specialty crop growers in the region.
  • needed to establish herbicide drift as a serious economic and regulatory concern in [your state] and across the North Central U.S.
  • estimated to take 5-20 minutes, depending on your experience with drift damage.
  • facilitated by The Ohio State University and funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through agreement 2018-70006-28884.
Growers can complete the survey at go.osu.edu/drift29. Find additional information at go.osu.edu/ipm-drift.

Crop Production Surveys Coming from USDA

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USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) will be contacting farmers to gather final year-end crop production numbers and the amount of grain stored on their farms. The responses to the survey will be used in calculating county-level yields. Survey results will be published in several reports, including the Crop Production Annual Summary and the Quarterly Grain Stocks Report.
 
The reports will be released on January 12, 2021. All NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov. For more information call the NASS North Dakota Field Office at 800-582-6443.

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.

USDA to Survey County Acreage and Production

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The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey farmers in 41 states, including North Dakota, as part of its County Agricultural Production Survey. The survey will collect information on total acres planted and harvested, as well as total yield and production of row crops down to the county level.
 
North Dakota State Statistician Darin Jantzi says the survey is going out later than usual. “The lateness and delays of the harvest is causing us to send this out three weeks later than normal. This is the time of the year where we’re collecting information to get more county estimate data.”
 
Within the next few weeks, NASS representatives will contact selected farmers to arrange telephone or in-person interviews to complete the survey. Jantzi says this data is used to help federal and state programs to support farmers. NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified as required by federal law.
Black Beans

2018 Dry Bean Grower Survey Results

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For 29 years, dry bean growers have responded to an annual survey of varieties grown, pest problems, pesticide use and grower practices. Research and Extension faculty at North Dakota State University, along with directors of the Northarvest Bean Growers Association, developed the survey form, which was mailed to all Northarvest bean growers. All participants of the survey were anonymous.

A total of 241 growers responded to the survey, representing 15.2 percent of last year’s total planted acreage. The previous year, 239 growers complete the survey.

More than 32 percent of growers who responded ranked drought as the most significant production problem in 2018. Diseases and harvest were ranked as the next largest production problems. In 2017, water damage was number one on this list and drought was number two.

For the second year in a row, the survey included questions about dicamba drift injury and whether it will affect growers’ future planting intentions. Six growers reported dicamba drift injury on their dry bean acres in 2018, compared to nine the previous year. The six growers affected estimated yield losses of 300 to 2,000 pounds per acre.

As in 2017, the worst weed problems in 2018 were kochia, lambsquarters and ragweed. Basagran/generics and Raptor were the most commonly used herbicides by dry bean growers last year.

Read the full results here.