Making Great Beans

The first field of beans were cut Sunday the 21st of September, but it was the 24th before enough acres were ready that we could officially turn on the entire harvest enterprise. We finished Seehusen West, our last bean field, Saturday morning, the 4th of October. We did not have a single rain delay during that 11-day stretch. 

Despite the belief that beans don't like wet feet, yields were surprisingly good. The emphasis on early planting, that even the more cautious operators have embraced, is partly responsible. Equally important is our shift away from a 50/50 rotation.

Perseverance is a virtue. Equally prudent is picking your battles. Over time we've learned certain locations are not suited to high bean yields. If a farm hasn't had a top 50% yield in a 20-year period, it likely won't make the top 50% in the next 20 years. We quit growing beans on those farms. Additionally, we include more farms that have been continuous corn with manure into the bean rotation. This change required us to transport manure beyond the range of our drag hose equipment. While this increased application expense, we are finding it to be cost effective for several reasons. There is a high probability of "eighty something" beans on the continuous corn fields. We are also seeing a multi-year yield bump in fields previously not receiving manure, even from a single application. Like many of the investments we make in farming, it can take years to recover the initial cost of an input.  

Finally, a consequence of only planting beans in fields that meet our criteria, is the percentage of acres going to beans continues to decline. This reminds me of an observation I made years ago. One of the most reliable practices for increasing bean yields is to grow fewer beans. It seems to be working.

Jim