How many vegetable and/or dry bean growers here?

I was wondering about the state of affairs growing processing crops such as sweet corn, peas, or snap beans to name a few. Also, if growing navy beans, kidney beans, or other dry-type bean. It used to be if on reasonably productive soils there was more net profit than growing grain crops. That small grain crops were used for rotational purposes.

Don't know how big an operation your talking about but my dad years ago do about 2 acres of garden years ago and sold his stuff at the local farmers market. Big problem with vegetables is it is a lot of hands one picking every day etc. I grow a garden each year and give away many green beans over the summer because I always have to many. Ya I could sell them but giving them away give me other perks.

There used to be lots of red kidney beans here in Cayuga County. None now. The last of the puller pieces and parts we had saved in the barn just finally went to the scrapper.

Snap beans and canning sweet corn were here more recently, but they're gone too.

Tureks, in King Ferry, grow, package, and ship fresh sweet corn. They're also doing some pumpkins, etc.

We raise a lot of pinto beans in our area, There several 'elevators' that ship/process/bag them. They are a good rotational crop. However the like the lighter well drained soils.Pintos are a 60 to 80 day crop. Some of the later planted ones are being harvested 'as we speak'.This year,pintos are the crop to grow,whearas corn is....well you know

Bob, you and I are in pretty much the same area in terms of farm enterprises. Why do think that red kidney beans have fallen off? Some say the ground is "beaned out" which is to say certain nutrients crucial to bean production are not being maintained. Some say the market just does not offer a price that allows a profit. Some cite a number of poor growing seasons implying weather. As farmers we all recognize the need to adapt to changing growing and marketing forces. It eats me up knowing there are changes out there that I can not implement because my cash flow will not handle it in the short term. I need to be growing more hay but there also needs to be indoor storage even if they are rounds. If you are one of very few taking rounds to a sale that have been outside you will take a beating 100 percent of the time on price. It will not matter what is under the outmost layer on a round bale.

Had a great uncle in that region in the 50's and 60's make a lot of money on kidney beans. Never owned an acre of land - always rented. Did it with a JD A and a Bidwell bean combine. Always had to pull them to dry and hope for a dry fall.

All of the reasons you cite for the demise of the dry bean industry here, are the same ones I've heard. I quit both beans and haying years ago. I swore I would never again grow a crop here that had to be laid on the ground. I hate to invoke the term "climate change", because it is so politicized. But weather patterns sure are different than they were in my youth. One baler and one bean thresher shared by three farms, and it seems like we baled all summer, and did beans in dry fall weather(mostly). Baling dry hay here anymore is a fools errand. Soybean harvest just got under way, and now that's stopped in its tracks.

This is big kidney bean country around here,but I don't grow any. There's a processing plant about three miles west of me. Several farmers own it together. Dad had five acres in one year. Made a good chunk of change of it so he planted 20 the next year and lost his backside on them. My uncle used to raise 1000 acres or so every year back in the 60s. I'd heard he made a million dollars one year and lost it all and then some the next.

Out here in ND, there are many acres of dry beans. Mostly Pinto, Black, and Navy. More every year, along with lentils, chick peas (garbonzo), and field peas. There is a huge world market for plant based protein. There is definitely some work involved in growing all of them, and attention to detail is required. All of these crops are suseptible to mold and disease, and weed control can be a challenge. Rotation is key to disease control. There are farmers here that are starting to fight disease due to not rotating enough. Most of the beans here are harvested standing anymore. Newer varieties help with harvestability, and chemical dessication helps the dry down.

No offense taken here to the mention of climate change, it has always been changing. The question is how fast, how much, can we do anything about it, should we do anything, and is mankind just going to implode anyway...

Not many bean fields out here in Southern California anymore. Lima Beans were the crop most farmers grew. We ate a lot of Lima Beans growing up. Anyone grow Lima's? Stan

Local elevator closed the doors about 3 seasons ago. Said he couldn't get any growers to supply him.

here in s.e. minnesota peas and sweetcorn are pretty popular. usually a contract is signed for a specific price and number of acres grown in late winter. that way the bottom line is based on yield which is of course depends on the weather. usually the bto,s plant early peas and then plant soybeans as soon as the peas are harvested. which usually works but not all the time. the canning company tried to change and let the smaller farmers go first many years ago to be fair to everyone but the big guys got together and threatened to quit so the canning company went back.some of the farmers will work up the pea and sweetcorn ground and plant oats or rye or sudan grass and let their cattle fall graze the crop off to save on winter feed. my dad use to plant oats after peas and let the sheep graze in the fall to flush them for fall breeding.

And the growers would say cannot depend on the elevator being here when the crop is ready.

Back in the 50-early 70's there were lots of food crop growers in this area. Beech Nut Baby Food in Canajoharie was the driving force. They owened pea harvesters and rented tractors to pull them. Many crop farmers grew string beans and had their own bean pickers mounted on Farmall tractors. Others were dependent on migrant help to pick the beans. Other crops that were popular back then were Cabbage, Cauliflower, onions, and carrots. These crops that were popular then are all but gone. The Beech Nut Corporation has also left Canajoharie.
There has however been a large influx of Amish farmers who are growing sweet corn, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and potatoes, to mention the main stays. They even have an auction house that specializes in selling produce in both bulk containers and smaller portions. They have a good variety of buyers from grocery chains to restaurants that buy from them.
There are also some successful small family operations that specialize in Garlic and green crops like lettuce. One such operation has their own delivery truck and has over the years established a retail route In the Capital District area.
Probably should mention the Apple growers in NY also. Apples is a big portion of the state's agricultural economy. Seams that grape production is also gaining momentum.
The State has encouraged the growth of Farmers Markets in many areas also, so I think there is a resurgence of this type of farming here, only in a much smaller scale.

Loren