Bean Acres

Our recent winter snowfall isn t keeping farmers from thinking about spring Tonight Ag Reporter Sarah Gustin takes us to Wilton to find out what producers in the area are looking to plant Aaron Franklund Wilton Agronomist It seems that the farther north of Wilton you go up by Washburn and over east to that Harvey area that is alot of pinto beans and dry beans grown there You go south of Wilton it seems you get more into the pea area and more of a wheat barley rotation That s right dry bean and pinto acres are on the rise Aaron Franklund is an agronomist in the Wilton area Franklund says more and more producers in his area are looking at making the switch to beans Sarah Gustin KX News Franklund says that in this area he is expecting about a 10 percent increase in pinto acres he says that is because it s one of the strongest commodities on the board right now Aaron Franklund Wilton Agronomist On the commodity board that we are showing there is nothig that really stands out as a money maker this year wheat is meedeoker but beans dry beans are showing signs that you could have some opportunities to make some good money per acre When you are talking contracted price anywhere from 22-25 cents you have some good chance of making some good money But every acre these beans speak for another crop won t be planted Aaron Franklund Wilton Agronomist From talking with our local growers around here They are suggesting that they are going to be cutting out planting acres of durum peas and barley Franklund says he is expecting soybean acres to be flat because seed supply is tight Aaron Franklund Wilton Agronomist The supply of soybeans for the proper maturity in this area is tight So alot of guys are shifting acres into the dry beans Franklund says beans can be a risky crop to grow but he says they are a very viable crop to try and we have the right land for it He says if you aren t interested in planting beans he says flax is a great alternative to add to your crop rotation He says right now new crop prices for flax are good and the soil in this area is known for high yields Near Wilton for KX news I am Sarah Gustin Across the state dry edible bean acres are estimated at 680-thousand that s up 11 percent from 2009