CNS Canada — The quality of Manitoba’s edible bean crop appears decent, but yields will remain a mystery for a week or two.
Dennis Lange, pulse specialist for Manitoba Agriculture at Altona, Man., said most edible beans are maturing about two weeks ahead of normal, but yield estimates will have to wait for more harvest to happen.
“The quality is good,” he said.
The shortage of moisture this year could lead to smaller seed size but he said companies he has talked to say “it’s only the first get” as far as harvest goes, and they’ll know more once they get further into fields.
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Often, kidney and cranberry bean fields are ready for harvest first, but Lange said he’s seen at least one field of pintos being taken off too.
Last year’s pinto bean crop was a strong 2,385 bushels per acre, he said.
“So that’s near the top of the record,” at least in recent memory, he said.
Last year, crops enjoyed a lot of residual soil moisture left over from 2016 — and that was not available this summer.
Lange compared the conditions to another dry year, 2011, when pinto beans still managed to get 2,200 bushels per acre.
“So, I think there’s still some beans to be had yet,” he said.
Overall, farmers in the province insured 121,000 acres this year, according to Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp.
That includes 48,000 acres of pintos, 27,000 acres of black beans, 20,000 acres of navy beans, 2,000 acres of kidneys, 8,400 acres of cranberry beans, and 1,100 acres of small reds.
— Terry Fries writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.
