Happy New Year, everyone! It's hard to believe that 2024 is already here. We wish you and your loved ones all the very best in the new year.

Northarvest Bean Growers Association is excited to start 2024 off with a bang - Bean Day will be here next week! We hope to see everyone there on Friday, January 19th. You can find more details about Bean Day 2024 in this newsletter.

January 2024 Newsletter Table of Contents:

• Bean Day 2024
• Bean Day Poll
• NBGA Member Profile
• USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market Review
• NDSU Getting It Right Conference
• Release of NDSU Dry Bean Variety Trial Results
• NDSU 2024 Weed Control Guide
• Bean Resources from the Bean Institute
• Beans in the New Year
• Bean Nutrition Corner
• US Dry Bean Council Updates
• The Dry Bean Scene

Don't miss your opportunity to showcase your business to hundreds of bean growers at this single-day, once-a-year event!

Please note: Exhibitor spots at Bean Day 2024 are nearly fully booked and very limited.

Interested? Contact NBGA by contacting NBGA Communication & Marketing Director Jed Brazier - jed@northarvestbean.org - to register your Bean Day 2024 exhibitor space before they are gone!

Bean Day 2024 Sponsor Spotlight

NBGA would like to thank Colombo North America for their lunch sponsorship and once again for supporting NBGA by choosing to be a Bean Day 2024 sponsor.

To learn more, visit Colombo North America

NBGA would like to thank BASF for their Bean Day 2024 Silver Sponsorship.

Learn more about BASF by clicking here.

NBGA would like to thank Heads Up Plant Protectants, Inc. for their Bean Day 2024 Pre-Bean Day Social Hour Sponsorship. (Don't forget to join us from 5 - 7 pm for our Pre-Bean Day Social on Thursday, January 18th!)

Learn about Heads Up Plant Protectants, Inc. at www.headsupst.com

NBGA would like to thank Bonanza Bean for their Bean Day 2024 Morning sponsorship.

Learn about Bonanza Bean at www.bonanzabean.com

NBGA would like to thank Ihry Insurance Agency for their Bean Day 2024 sponsorship.

Learn about Ihry Insurance Agency at www.ihryins.com

Need to book a room for Bean Day?

Contact Holiday Inn Fargo, an IHG Hotel - Phone: (701) 282-2700

Can't make it in person?

Bean Day 2024 Schedule

Bean Day 2024 will cover a wide array of important, interesting topics, including dry bean management, research findings, variety trial updates, and more. The full schedule of programming is below.

➡️ AgWeek wrote an article about Bean Day - read it here!

A Glimpse Back at Bean Day 2023

Dr. Joe Ikley, North Dakota State University Extension Weed Specialist, was a highlighted speaker at Bean Day 2023. Ikley shared about herbicide programs to help control weeds in dry beans.

NBGA is looking forward to having Dr. Ikley present on the Dry Bean Management panel at Bean Day 2024. He will address the impact of ground rolling on weed control. Other speakers on the panel will cover topics such as white mold management and plant establishment.

➡️ You can watch his Bean Day 2023 presentation here, or by clicking on the image below.

Below, you can find links to the most recent USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market Reviews. Click on the date to see the report.

• Due to the holidays, the next report will be released on January 12, 2024. You will be able to find that report here.

• December 19, 2023: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to report contacts, Eagle Pass and El Paso border train crossings are closed and product is not being moved into its market."



• December 12, 2023: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 12, 2023, in November, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.1 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in November (SA); up 4.0 percent over the year (NSA)."

The dates for the 2024 season NDSU Extension Getting It Right series are now available. You can find all the details and registration links here. This series is an annual crop production conference that features the most recent research-based information about production, and presentations are from NDSU specialists. You can view the 2023 Getting It Right Dry Bean Production recordings on YouTube, here.

The dry bean production webinar will be held on January 30, 2024 at 8:30 am CST.

➡️ You can register for the January 30th conference here.

The 2024 North Dakota Weed Control Guide was recently released. Dr. Joe Ikley, who will be a speaker at Bean Day, compiled this publication. As you can see in the screenshot of the cover (below), a group of contributors worked together to produce this helpful Weed Control Guide.

➡️ You can download the PDF of the 2024 Weed Control Guide here.

With the start of a new year, many people make resolutions to eat healthier. And we all know the perfect solution to achieve that: beans!

January 6th is National Bean Day, which is timely with the heightened interest in healthy eating. This annual day in recognition of beans provides a good platform for conversation about the many benefits of beans, and a chance to try delicious bean dishes.

Here are a few ideas from the Bean Institute of tasty and interactive ways to incorporate beans this year - and not just at the dinner table. Click on the links below to see the posts on BeanInstitute.com

Many health benefits are attributed to regularly eating beans, including reducing the risk of heart disease. A recent study by Dr. Katarina Doma and colleagues did an excellent job of evaluating potential benefits of beans for heart health.

What did the researchers do? The research team worked with a group of adults who had elevated LDL cholesterol (often called "bad" cholesterol), to see if eating beans could help lower cholesterol levels. The study delved into how the daily amount eaten and different bean types may affect this. The researchers had study participants eat a daily rotation of five different types of beans: black, navy, pinto, dark red kidney, and white kidney. Participants completed three 4-week treatments, wherein they ate one of the following for every day of the treatment: 1/2 cup of cooked beans, 1 cup of cooked beans, or white rice as the control.

What did they find? The researchers found that eating beans decreased both total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Interestingly, when they examined statistical significance, they found that only when participants ate 1 cup of beans was the reduction in cholesterol significant, when compared to the white rice control. This suggests that the amount of beans eaten is important, and daily consumption of 1 cup of beans may be better than 1/2 cup in terms of cholesterol reduction. High cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. Thus, regularly eating beans may help reduce cholesterol levels and therefore lower the risk for heart disease. Another conclusion the authors reached was that, when their study results were taken together with those of previous studies, consumption of both a single bean type or of multiple types of beans can help decrease total and LDL cholesterol.

Why do beans help lower cholesterol? There are several reasons that beans may show these cholesterol-lowering effects. One is the high dietary fiber content of beans. Like we have discussed in previous newsletters, beans are one of the best sources of dietary fiber. Fiber has numerous beneficial outcomes, such as reducing the body's absorption of cholesterol. Another potential reason is that beans can help increase satiety (i.e., the feeling of being full) - likely due to their high fiber and protein content. This could result in people altering their food intake and choices, which could also help reduce the risk for heart disease.

Looking for more information?

• You can find the full article, Canned Beans Decrease Serum Total and LDL Cholesterol in Adults with Elevated LDL Cholesterol in a 4-wk Multicenter, Randomized, Crossover Study, ➡️ online here. A screenshot of the title, authors, and abstract is shown below.
• The Bean Institute also has a post about the positive impacts that beans can have on heart health.

Moral of the story? Beans can help lower cholesterol levels, thereby supporting heart health!

BeanCon24 is a global dry bean event run by the US Dry Bean Council, bringing together a diverse group of bean buyers and stakeholders from around the world. This annual event provides key networking and educational opportunities.

BeanCon24 will be held in Cancun, Mexico from February 1 - 3, 2024, at the Intercontinental Presidente Cancun Resort. You can find more event details and register on the website: ➡️ https://www.beancon24.com/

On the evening of February 2, the Bean Extravaganza will take place. Chef Carlos Leal, a chef influencer in Mexico, will prepare delicious and innovative bean dishes, to help showcase the culinary versatility of beans. Chef Carlos has participated in numerous television programs, global events, and in forums such as TEDx. His culinary creations are something to look forward to tasting. In addition, there will be a video call to action by Andrew Zimmern, a chef influencer in the USA. NBGA is the proud sponsor of the Bean Extravaganza.

The panel Food as Medicine, How Beans Make Us Healthier is bringing together several experts on bean nutrition and health benefits. The three panelists include: 1.) Nick Buettner of Blue Zones; 2.) Dr. Henry Thompson of Colorado State University; and 3.) Dr. Raymond Glahn of the Robert Holley Center for Agriculture and Health in Ithaca, New York. Dr. Chelsea Didinger will moderate the panel. Speakers will address topics such as longevity, chronic disease prevention and promotion of gut health, and mineral content and bioavailability in beans.

Update: An official statement was recently released about the extension of the EU tariff agreement: "United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today released the following statement after President Biden signed two Presidential Proclamations to extend the European Union’s access to U.S. tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for steel and aluminum for two additional years. This extension, combined with the EU’s continued suspension on tariffs on U.S. goods, will give both sides additional time to negotiate a global arrangement that addresses carbon intensity and non-market capacity in the steel and aluminum industries." You can find more details and a statement from Ambassador Katherine Tai here.

The Dry Bean Scene is sponsored, in part, by NBGA. Click on the links below to listen to the most recent episodes.

• ➡️ January 6, 2024: Dr. Frayne Olson, NDSU Extension Crops Economist, discusses the dry edible bean marketplace.

• ➡️ December 30, 2023: Dr. Juan Osorno, North Dakota State University's Dry Bean Breeder, talks about ND Red Barn, a dark red kidney bean variety released in 2023. Osorno is a highlighted speaker at Bean Day - come and hear his presentation to learn more.

• ➡️ December 21, 2023: Mitch Coulter, NBGA Executive Director, discusses the newly formed Midwest Dry Bean Coalition and some of the new organization's priorities, such as conducting a lifecycle assessment.

• ➡️ December 17, 2023: Thom Petersen, Commissioner of the MN Department of Agriculture, talks about an upcoming trade delegation to Cuba in February 2024.

• ➡️ December 11, 2023: Jed Brazier, NBGA Marketing & Communications Director, shares about the upcoming Bean Day 2024 and what to expect, including mentioning some speakers who will be joining.