Hello and welcome to the August 2024 NBGA e-newsletter!

The growing season is always a busy and exciting time of year. The bean plants are far along in their development, and we are looking forward to enjoying a new crop of beans. Although it may be hard to believe, by the time our next newsletter is sent out, growers will likely be deep into harvest season, and some may even have already completed dry bean harvest. We wish everyone a safe and productive harvest season. As always, NBGA wants to express our sincere thanks for all that you do to produce excellent beans.

In addition to all the work in the field, board members recently attended the NBGA annual summer meeting, as you can see in the photo below. We appreciate them taking on a leadership role and advocating for the dry bean industry!

Board members gathered last month for our annual summer meeting

August 2024 Newsletter Table of Contents:

• Bean Poll
• NBGA Member Profile
• Northarvest to Host Worldwide Reverse Trade Mission
• USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market Review
• NBGA Partners with a Chef
• A New Look for the Bean Institute Website
• Bean Institute: Back to School with Beans
• Bean Nutrition Corner
• Northarvest in the News and on the Move
• US Dry Bean Council Updates
• The Dry Bean Scene

Bean Poll

In our July 2024 newsletter poll, we asked you when you planted beans this year. Once again, we had great engagement and received over 350 responses! Thank you for participating in our monthly poll.

The most common response was that growers planted around the same time as usual, but results were relatively evenly spread across the four response options. See below for a breakdown of the responses.

For our August 2024 poll, please click below. As always, we will reveal the response breakdown in next month's newsletter.

How is your dry bean crop maturity looking?

Help us share the story of beans through your eyes!

Please consider sharing your photos and/or video clips from the 2024 growing season with NBGA. This will help us better tell the full story of beans grown in the Northarvest region, as seen through the eyes of growers. Northarvest's goal is to showcase the images and video clips taken by our growers right here in this newsletter, as well as via social media platforms. That is why Jed Brazier, NBGA Marketing & Communications Director, created a YouTube playlist that specifically features grower videos.

Why NBGA Is Excited to Host the Trade Mission

Mitch Coulter, NBGA Executive Director, shares about the importance of this trade mission, how Northarvest has been preparing, and why he is looking forward to it. Read his responses below.

What is the purpose of the Worldwide Reverse Trade Mission?

The U.S. Dry Bean Council developed a program called the Worldwide Reverse Trade Mission to bring dry bean buyers to the United States during the harvest season of dry beans. This annual event moves to different regions around the United States each year to show off the different classes of beans that are grown. This offers a first-hand look at the process of harvesting, bean quality, yields, and is a great opportunity for long-term relationships to be built between buyer and seller.

How has Northarvest been preparing for the trade mission?

Northarvest Bean Growers Association works very closely with the North Central Bean Dealers Association that represents the dealers, brokers, and processors across North Dakota and Minnesota and of course the U.S. Dry Bean Council event staff. This coalition effort is critical in developing the best mission for the region. Buyers will get to experience on-farm, in season dry bean harvest, delivery to the bean dealer, grain inspection quality standards, grocery store tours, and business-to-business meetings. There are also education sessions about sustainability, economics, bean breeding, and nutrition of dry beans grown in North Dakota and Minnesota. The agenda has been set and we are excited to host 30+ individuals from around the world.

What am I looking forward to about hosting the Worldwide Reverse Trade Mission?

I believe what I enjoy most about the Worldwide Reverse Trade Mission is the opportunity for all sectors of the dry bean industry to come together and the pride that this industry shows in the product that is grown and produced. The buyers will receive a quality product that they can feel good about. The lifelong relationships that are produced when important events like these are held, and the importance of the investment that the USDA-Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) makes in agriculture commodities like U.S. grown dry beans, make it all worth it for our farmers and dealers.

Anything else to mention?

Bringing buyers to the region not only unifies the industry but the education we receive from the buyers is crucial. We learn about world cultures, their governments, policies, regulatory activity, ports, transportation, world influences... and the list goes on. If the U.S. Dry Bean Council and USDA-FAS did not form important programs like the Worldwide Reverse Trade Mission, we would not have the opportunity to understand the important needs and wants of our international partners.

Below, you can find links to the most recent USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market Reviews. Click on the date to see the report.

• The next USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market report will be released soon. You will be able to find that report here.

• For the Dry Edible Beans Daily Grower Bids, check here.

• August 6, 2024: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to the Crop Progress Report August 4, 2024, Dry Edible Peas are 29% harvested in Washington, 40% harvested in Montana, 19% harvested in North Dakota, and 15% harvested in Idaho."

• July 30, 2024: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to the Crop Progress Report July 28, 2024, Dry Edible Peas are 17% harvested in Washington, 13% harvested in Montana, and 6% harvested in Idaho."

• July 23, 2024: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to the Crop Progress Report July 21, 2024, Dry Edible Peas are 10% harvested in Washington and 3% harvested in Montana."

• July 16, 2024: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to the Crop Progress Report July 14, 2024, Dry Edible Peas are 4% harvested in Washington. According to NASS Acreage report June 28, 2024, 2024 Dry Edible Bean acres are 1,359,000, 2024 Dry Edible Pea acres are 1,033,000, 2024 Lentil acres are 836,000, and 2024 All Chickpea acres are 502,000."

This month, NBGA is excited to release the next recipe in our bean cooking video series with Chef Lauren Zobac: Bachelor Beans! Tasty and satisfying, they also make a perfect addition to an outdoor adventure - enjoy some over your next campfire (or on toast for breakfast at home)!

This next video in our recipe series is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, August 15th at 7 pm central time. NOW LIVE Recipe ingredients and cooking instructions are ready and waiting in the video description for when it goes live. The video tutorial will be available on our YouTube bean recipe playlist, linked by clicking the photo below. NBGA appreciates the efforts of all involved and we hope you enjoy it!

If you make this or any of the recipes we share, please send us photos and let us know how you like them!

August means that back-to-school season is here - and what better way to go back to school than with beans?! Here are a couple recipes to help ring in a delicious school year.

Image from the Bean Institute website

More from the Bean Institute

Did you see the Bean Institute's July 2024 newsletter? The featured topic addressed the power of beans to promote the health of both people and the planet. You can see a snippet below, or click here to read the full post.

With back-to-school season upon us, we wanted to share about the importance of introducing beans to children from a young age.

Beans are a nutritional powerhouse, packed with dietary fiber and protein and rich in vitamins and minerals like potassium, iron, and folate. The essential nutrients in beans are important for healthy growth and development. In addition, the nutrient-dense nature of beans can help children maintain a healthy weight.

Additionally, including beans in the dietary patterns of children can have benefits for health and well-being that extend beyond childhood and into adulthood. Research suggests that incorporating healthy foods into the diet from a young age can help encourage making food choices that include these healthy foods – like beans – later in life.

Below are several key findings from recent science articles, addressing the promotion of healthy foods to children.

•  Vollmer and Baietto (2017) researched the relationship between food-related parenting practices and child food preferences. They found that involving children in food preparation was positively related to a child’s preference for vegetables (note that beans are counted not only as a protein food, but also as a vegetable per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans). This finding aligned with previous research, which similarly suggests that allowing children to participate in meal preparation may help them feel more positive about vegetables and therefore more inclined to try and like these foods.
• Modeling healthy eating behavior has been found to support children’s willingness to engage in the same behavior. Essentially, observing adult role models consuming vegetables – like beans – can help encourage children to also eat beans (Johnson, 2016).
• Overall, Johnson (2016) explains that there are several “conditions that seem to promote child vegetable acceptance.” These include consistency (e.g., having vegetables available and fewer unhealthful foods that may compete with the vegetables; structured mealtimes with parents or adult role models modeling vegetable consumption), flexibility (e.g., being willing to negotiate and provide choices), and responsiveness (e.g., be encouraging; allowing children to engage in sensory learning with foods).
• Repeated exposure to a novel food can be an important mechanism to help children accept new foods. Johnson (2016) wrote a review article about developmental and environmental influences on young children’s vegetable preferences and consumption. She states that "the optimal number of required exposures is at least 5–6 exposures to a new food, and perhaps as many as 8–12 exposures, with fewer exposures seeming to be required in infancy, before children come to accept and like a novel food.” Therefore, regularly including beans can be a powerful method to improve acceptance.

Encouraging children to adopt healthy eating choices is important, because research supports that food preferences are formed in infancy. Fostering a liking of beans in the early years can thus positively impact later food choices.

Beans for babies? If you are wondering about when and how to introduce beans to babies, read this helpful article from the Bean Institute.

The recipes in the Nifty Little Bean Cookbook can be fun to make and enjoy with children.

Moral of the story? Introducing beans to children at a young age can help create bean lovers and encourage lifelong healthy eating habits.

Northarvest Research Committee

Crop Insurance Committee

Leadership Committee

Education & Sponsorship Committee

NBGA President Eric Jorgenson gifts Kevin Regan a thermos as part of a thank you for his service.

NBGA would also like to take a moment to congratulate Greg Endres on his recent induction into the National Association of Country Agricultural Agents Hall of Fame! With decades of contributions to the ag community and numerous resulting positive impacts for growers, this award is very much deserved.

➡️ Learn more about his induction to this hall of fame here.

The US Dry Bean Council's summer meeting took place earlier this month in Savannah. Joe Mauch (NBGA Vice President and USDBC Delegate), Eric Samuelson (NBGA Director and Past President, and USDBC Alternate), and Mitch Coulter (NBGA Executive Director) were all in attendance. In addition to representing Northarvest, Mauch and Samuelson played the critical role of ensuring grower voices were heard during the USDBC annual summer meeting.

L to R: NBGA Executive Director Mitch Coulter, Joe Mauch, and Eric Samuelson at the USDBC summer meeting

The US Dry Bean Council partnered with USA Pulses to host a Bean, Chickpea, & Lentil Wine Pairing. Not only did beans feature prominently on the menu, but they were also used as decoration on serving trays and in glass jars on tables. The black beans in the Oat & Black Bean Jam Bars were from North Dakota, with the state of origin proudly labeled on the description card. The small red and navy beans used for table and serving tray decorations also came from North Dakota.

Joe Cramer (Michigan Bean Commission and USDBC) and Madison Jacobson (USA Pulses)welcome attendees.

There were seven bean/pulse dishes served at the wine pairing. Several are shown here, along with beans on display.

These Oat & Black Bean Jam Bars were very popular with reception attendees. You can find Chef Nemanja Milunovic's recipe for these bars here.

The black beans in this hit menu item came from North Dakota

Navy (top photo) and small red beans (bottom) from North Dakota were on display.

The Dry Bean Scene is sponsored, in part, by NBGA. Click on the links below to listen to the most recent episodes.

• ➡️ August 2, 2024: Columbia Grain International President and CEO Jeff Van Pevenage highlights how his company is expanding into North Dakota with its new dry edible bean processing facility in Valley City. He also discusses their focus on automation.

• ➡️ July 26, 2024: NDSU dry bean breeder Juan Osorno provides an update about the status of this year’s crop. “It’s a mixed bag,” said Osorno. For example, the Red River Valley looks excellent, but the dry bean test plots in Carrington have been destroyed by hail. This episode also has a link to a Facebook post showing the hail damage.

• ➡️ July 22, 2024: Dean Nelson of Kelley Bean Company in Hatton, North Dakota discusses the status of the dry bean crop. He states that due to the cooler weather in June, they are lagging a little behind. With the recent warmer weather, the crop is taking off and looking good overall. He expects harvest to happen in early September.

• ➡️ July 12, 2024: Griggs County NDSU Extension Agent Jeff Stachler discusses the weather and its impact on dry beans. He expresses that although we are behind from last year, it's important to remember that last year was an abnormal year. The beans are in need of sunlight and heat to encourage growth.