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Dry bean growers want USDA purchase

Dry bean growers are requesting USDA purchase dry beans after retaliatory tariffs from the European Union have essentially halted trade.

Michigan Bean Shippers President Jim Byrum tells Brownfield one to two thirds of Michigan’s navy bean crop is exported to the EU, but since a 25 percent tariff  was announced in June, trade has stopped.  “We’ve already seen some price impacts that have been highly negative so we’re going to have to see what we can do to figure it out.”

The nation’s largest dry bean growing areas in the MinDack region and Michigan are requesting USDA make immediate purchases of pinto, dark red kidney and navy beans impacted by EU tariffs.

Byrum says farmers would rather make their money in an open market but they need help with the current trade environment.  “Nobody wants to contract for 2019.  There’s a lot of concern out there about stability and what kinds of issues may impact crops.  There’s some real hesitance on the part of the sellers and buyers to look beyond this current crop year.”

He says navy beans are canned for products like baked beans and two of the three major buyers are in the EU. Michigan is second largest producer of navy beans in the U.S. behind North Dakota.

AUDIO: Interview with Jim Byrum