Growing Dry Edible Beans: Production tips, economics, and more

Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute
601 West Nifong Blvd. Suite 1D
Columbia, MO 65203

Phone: 573-449-3518
Email: info@jeffersoninstitute.org

Overview

Dry edible beans, or field beans, come in a wide variety of market classes, including kidney bean, navy bean, pinto bean and black bean. These beans, although differing in seed size and coloring, are all just different types of a single species, Phaseolus vulgaris L. Originally domesticated in Central and South America over 7,000 years ago, dry beans moved their way northward through Mexico and spread across most of the continental U.S. These beans were commonly grown with corn and sometimes squash. Now, instead of the Native American practice of planting dry beans and squash right among corn plants, a different bean, soybean from China, has found its place with corn. The other key difference, of course, is that our modern corn and soybean crops go primarily to feed livestock, instead of being strictly for human food like the old corn and dry bean system used for thousands of years.

Although grown on a much smaller acreage than soybeans, dry beans are still an important food crop in the U.S. The leading states in dry bean production are North Dakota, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, California and Idaho. Total U.S. production is approximately 2 million acres. Pinto beans are the market class occupying the largest acreage, followed by navy beans. Dry beans have occasionally been grown under contract in Missouri. Some varieties of dry beans are suitable for Missouriâ€™s growing conditions, but the crop is more variable in yield and price than soybeans. However, the advantage of dry beans as an alternative is their relatively high price, ranging from $9 to $20 per bushel.