The Rural Voice, 1982-12, Page 36FARM ADVICE
White Bean Production
in North Dakota
1'at
Lynch, Soils & Crop specialist
Perth County
appears as if the bean growers of the
North Dakota, Minnesota area. visited
and researched Ontario and Michigan.
They then rewrote the book on edible
bean production. This white bean area
grew from an insignificant number of
acres three years ago to an area that is
now larger than Ontario's.
Our first stop was at the Dakota Bean
Company. We were shown through one
of their elevators. From the outside, the
building seemed innocent enough. How-
ever, once inside the image changed. This
elevator handled only beans - no other
crop. All equipment is designed for the
prime reason of gently handling beans.
We talked to the people at this elevator
In August, a small group left Ontario to
view the white bean area of North Dakota
and Minnesota. The group consisted of
ten farmers and three others directly
involved in the white bean industry. Our
idea was to view this new bean area and
find out what was going on. We thought
we'd take a quick look, make a few
mental notes of what they were doing
wrong and then sit back and watch the
goof up.
However, what we saw was a lot
different. In fact, the best word to
describe what we saw is impressive. We
were impressed with their land, their
production technique, their management
ability and the vastness of the area. It
Farm and Commercial Buildings
KASE VANDEN HEUVEL
CONST. CO. LTD.
R.R. 2 Goderich
524-9176
or Ken Janmaat, Seaforth
527-1858 after six
and they told us the Dakota Bean
Company had 40,000 acres contracted for
the growing year 1982. These contracts
guaranteed the growers $17. (U.S.)/cwt.
for 700 lbs. per acre. The rest of the beans
under this contract would be sold later at
another agreed price. The company was
adamant that they get the first 700
lbs./acre.
They kept close tabs on their growers as
far as production practices and yields. In
1981 their growers averaged about 1700
lbs./acre. About 4207o of their contracted
acreage was in narrow rows (6-14"). The
solid seeded white beans yielded 1707o
more beans per acre than the beans in
conventional row widths. They indicated
that for 1982 there were a larger percen-
tage of the beans solid seeded than in
1982.
We left this elevator, toured some plots
and then got talking to some growers. As
we drove around we were impressed with
the vastness of the area.
The topsoil was always 10" to 20" deep
with some places 3 to 4 feet deep. Some
areas had 10' to 12' of topsoil. It tended
to be a heavy gumbo type. It appeared to
work easy, but we were guaranteed if it
was worked wet it would be lumpy.
None of the land was tiled drain. The
ground water level was 8 to 10 feet below
the surface.
It is a dry area by our standards. Even
though they had not received rain for a
long time, the crops were all green. I think
this can be explained by their deep topsoil
and short distance to ground water.
Land was selling for around $1,500. to
$2,000. per acre. We saw only one or two
farms with "for sale" signs. Land rent
was $60. to $90. per acre.
MAKE TRACKS FOR CENTRALIA
Discover
Centralia's
Opportunities
Two year diploma courses
Good jobs
Career Variety
Ministry of
Agriculture
and Food
Discover
Centralia's
Facilities
Residence living
Practical laboratories
Recreation programs
Discover
Centralia's
Courses
Agricultural Business
Management
Animal Health
Technology
Food Service
Management
Consumer and
Community Studies
Discover
Centralia's
Surroundings
Excellent agricultural
location
Good Shopping
services
A good place
to learn
Discover
Centralia
Soon
Write or phone
Centralia College of
Agricultural Technology
Huron Park, Ontario
NOM IV()
(519) 228-6691
Centralia College of Agricultural Technology
Huron Park, Ontario NOM 1Y0 (519) 228-6691
PG. 36 THE RURAL VOICE/DECEMBER 1982