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Michigan dry bean acres could remain steady

A grain analyst says Michigan dry bean acres are expected to remain relatively steady for 2017.

Angie Setzer with Citizens Elevator tells Brownfield as farmers look for marketing opportunities this year dry beans and premium markets like non-GMO are well supplied.  “There are some guys that will maintain dry bean acres, perhaps increase them, but the dry bean market has been very similar to the non-GMO or the food grade market where the pipeline has been reasonably full and the demand has been somewhat softer than what we’ve seen after the 2012-2013 crop years.”

USDA says Michigan dry bean production declined 28 percent in 2016 to four million hundredweight. The Michigan Bean Commission attributes the reduction to an over supplied market and also expects limited increases in acres this planting season.

AUDIO: Interview with Angie Setzer