STAT Communications Ag Market News

North American Bean Output Rebound

VANCOUVER - Apr 3/14 - SNS -- Dry edible bean production in North America will approach the levels seen in 2012 and possibly 2006 as long as drought does not become a major factor across the western half of the production area in the United States.

Drought appears to have had an impact on seeding intentions in California, with farmers in the state intending to reduce land in dry edible beans from 38,700 to 34,000 acres, while leaving chickpeas unchanged at 11,000 acres.

Spring seeding could start with drier than normal soils in parts of Montana, much of North Dakota, and the western third of Nebraska and the eastern half of Colorado.

Forecasts through April 9 indicate moisture conditions should improve during that period, creating some confidence farmers will plant what they intend and that yields have a good chance of being close to average.

In its March 31 seeding intentions report, the USDA found that farmers want to seed 1.686 million acres of dry edible beans chickpeas this year, compared to 1.355 million last year and the previous five-year average of 1.553 million acres. If chickpeas are taken out of the mix, edible bean area will climb from 1.139 to 1.468 million acres, still above the recent average of 1.393 million acres.

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