Greetings, and welcome to NBGA's February 2025 newsletter!

This year is off to a busy start, and we have many updates to share with you all. In this newsletter, you can read about our successful 50th annual Bean Day, find the link to the latest Northarvest BeanGrower issue, watch NBGA share about beans on North Dakota Today, and much more. Thank you for your support, and happy reading!

Keynote Speaker Greg Peterson, AKA "Machinery Pete"

February 2025 Newsletter Table of Contents:

• Bean Poll
• NBGA Action Item: Call for Resolutions
• Bean Day a Success!
• Bean Breeding: Art + Science
• USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market Review
• Bean Institute: Make 2025 the Year of Beans!
• Bean Nutrition Corner: Beans and Heart Health
• Northarvest in the News and on the Move
• Northarvest BeanGrower: Winter 2025 Issue
• US Dry Bean Council Updates
• The Dry Bean Scene

Bean Poll

Thank you to everyone who participated in our January 2025 poll. As you can see in the results below, many folks are planning to eat more beans in 2025! This aligns perfectly with the Bean Institute's call to action we discuss later in this newsletter to make 2025 the Year of Beans.

For our February 2025 poll, please click below to indicate your answer. As always, we will reveal the response breakdown in next month's newsletter.

February 2025 poll: We are looking ahead to March, which is National Nutrition Month - a perfect opportunity to share about beans.



Bean Day a Success

Bean Day 2025 was a great success! For our annual Bean Day conference, we saw the highest attendance we have seen for this event and more watching online. The session recordings will be made available shortly - watch NBGA social channels for the announcement. Thank you to everyone who attended and made this event possible!

We want to highlight a few key moments from Bean Day, as well as share an exciting announcement about next year's Bean Day.

Eric Jorgenson, NBGA President, kicked off Bean Day by welcoming all attendees. He expressed his appreciation of sponsors and exhibitors, and then outlined the day's programming. Then, he introduced Al Rau, Master of Ceremonies.

NBGA President Eric Jorgenson

Bean Day M.C. Al Rau

Greg Peterson, known as Machinery Pete, was the keynote speaker for Bean Day 2025. In his morning presentation, he provided a deep dive into the farm equipment market to the nearly 400 attendees.

Later in the day, Leann Schafer, ND Dry Bean Council Member and NBGA grower, announced recipients of awards and industry recognition.

Greg Endres Recognized with Industry Achievement Award

Greg Endres was presented with the Industry Achievement Award, in recognition of the crucial contributions that he has made to the dry bean industry over the last several decades.

He began his career with NDSU Extension as assistant agriculture and natural resources agent in Ramsey County in July 1983. He has been an Extension agronomist and cropping systems specialist at the Carrington Research Extension Center since 1990. Overall, Endres has served the agricultural community for approximately 40 years.

A primary focus of his work has been providing support to Extension agents for their crop production education programs, and he has provided training events such as the Getting It Right Crop Production series for crop advisors and growers.

NBGA wishes to express our sincere gratitude for all Greg Endres has done for growers and the industry.

Dr. Baraem Pam Ismail Named Friend of the Bean

Dr. Baraem Pam Ismail, Director of the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC) at the University of Minnesota, was a highlighted speaker at Bean Day. She shared about the research that she and her colleagues are conducting at PPIC, and the Center's collaboration with NBGA. Much of this work has been on investigating dry bean protein isolates.

In appreciation of the critical work she is conducting with dry beans, Northarvest was honored to present her with the Friend of the Bean Award! This award recognizes those who have contributed positively and notably to the respect and reputation of our favorite legume, the dry bean.

Dry Bean Harvester Panel

In this panel, we heard from:

• Brady Olson, Pickett Equipment General Manager
• Marcio Barboza, Colombo North America Branch Manager & Mateus Nogueira, Colombo North America Regional Manager
• Haley Bucholz, Butler Machinery Company Agriculture Custom Account Manager

NBGA would like to thank the following businesses for joining us as Sponsors and helping us host the best Bean Day yet!

Gold Sponsor

Heads Up is a biological seed treatment for growers to get a head start against a variety of fungal and bacterial diseases in row and specialty crops. Used alone or in combination with other fungicide / insecticide seed treatments, Heads Up brings additional, full-season protection to help position your plants to succeed against yield robbing disease pathogens.

“Heads Up Seed Treatment is a great way to SUPERCHARGE your seeds ability to fight seedling diseases and white mold. Available on request, just ask your bean seed supplier!”

NBGA would like to thank Heads Up Plant Protectant for once again supporting NBGA and its mission by sponsoring Bean Day 2025 as a Gold Sponsor.

Visit the Heads Up website to learn more.

Lunch Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Morning Sponsors

We hope you enjoyed connecting with Exhibitors at Bean Day! If you are looking for more information and/or contact info, please see the list of Exhibitors below, with links to their websites.

Bean Day 2025 Exhibitor List

• Colombo North America
• Bonanza Bean
• Gowan USA
• Heads Up
• BASF
• Landmark Co.
• Cummings Ag
• Northern Bag and Box
• The Andersons DBA Thompsons
• Alloway
• Mayo Mfg.
• McGregor Co.
• Northern Valley Fertilizer
• Satake USA
• DS Welding
• Advanced Grain Handling
• ADM Seedwest
• Columbia Grain
• Healthy Food Ingredients
• Rapat Corporation
• Kelley Bean Co.
• Chippewa Valley Bean
• Pickett Equipment
• Biosafe Systems
• Tenacity Ag
• Acuitus Ag
• Visjon Biologics
• NDSU Research
• AMVT
• Lallemand Plant Care
• Northarvest Bean Growers Association

We are thrilled to have just released our new video, Bean Breeding: Art & Science, where we provide a behind-the-scenes look at the important work being done by dry bean breeders at the Isabela Substation of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Puerto Rico in Isabela, Puerto Rico.

Several dry bean breeders and researchers are featured: Jim Beaver, Juan Osorno, Tim Porch, and Evan Wright. Together, they cover an array of topics, including the critical role and benefits of an overwintering site and developing beans that are adapted to diverse conditions, why scientific collaboration is essential, advice for dry bean growers, and the powerful impact that dry beans have on the global food supply and our future. You can read more about how NDSU's dry bean breeding program is seeking to impact global food security in their recent article.

NBGA would like to thank all involved in the making of this video for their time, expertise, and participation.

➡️ Watch the video on the NBGA YouTube channel here!

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

• The next USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market report will be released soon. You will be able to find that report here.

• For the Dry Edible Beans Daily Grower Bids, check here.

• February 11, 2025: "Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com February 11, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.54 MXN. The Annual Bean Market News Review Report can be found at https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lsaba.pdf"

• February 4, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com February 4, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.56 MXN."

• January 28, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com January 28, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.61 MXN."

• January 21, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com January 21, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.63 MXN."

• January 14, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com January 14, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.54 MXN."

In their January 2025 newsletter, the Bean Institute had a call to action to make 2025 the Year of Beans. To facilitate this, they wrote a post titled A Year of Beans: Monthly Recipes to Keep Your Menu Fresh, which highlights a different bean variety and recipe every month - with a couple beans featured twice. Each month also suggests a recipe that matches the time of year well. For example, the warmer month of June features a great northern bean smoothie.

Wondering what bean and recipe is spotlighted in February? The Bean Institute talks black beans, recommending Spicy Black Bean and Chicken Tostadas with Avocado, Lettuce, and Sour Cream or Black Bean Brownies.

➡️ Read their full post, A Year of Beans: Monthly Recipes to Keep Your Menu Fresh, here for all the details!

In addition to their recipe recommendations, they also shared two additional things:

1. A Personalized Bean Tracker - as the Bean institute says, "this tool is designed to make your bean journey fun and straightforward." It includes monthly sections, a helpful bean preparation checklist, and sections for notes.
2. A Certified Bean Enthusiast Badge - Download this badge and show off your enthusiasm for beans after completing the challenge.

Did you know that February is American Heart Month? That is why for this month's Nutrition Corner, we want to share about how beans can play an important role in promoting cardiovascular health.

Image from NIH: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/american-heart-month

Numerous Groups Recommend Beans for Heart Health

The American Heart Association specifically recommends eating beans, espousing their many benefits, "Plant-based proteins such as beans and other legumes are high in minerals and dietary fiber without the saturated fat and cholesterol in some animal proteins."

Another organization that encourages bean consumption is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). In their heart-healthy eating plan, one of the main recommendations is to choose protein foods like beans, while limiting saturated fats (which beans naturally contain essentially none of) and added sugars. They recommend limiting sodium intake, suggesting to cook dry beans in little or no salt, and/or buy low- or no-sodium canned beans and rinse them before using them.

The NHLBI provides details about Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, commonly known as the DASH Diet. The DASH Eating Plan can help lower blood pressure and LDL (i.e., "bad") cholesterol, and it was named the "Best Heart Healthy Diet" by the U.S. News & World Report in 2025. This eating plan stresses the importance of foods rich in potassium, fiber, and magnesium, and low in saturated fat. This perfectly fits the nutritional profile of beans! Indeed, beans are one of the main foods recommended in the DASH Eating Plan.

How Bean Nutrition Promotes Heart Health

Beans are one of the best natural sources of dietary fiber - which can help manage risk factors for heart disease. Fiber has many critical roles, such as promoting satiety, helping lower cholesterol, and regulating blood sugar. Yet, over 90% of Americans do not meet the recommended intake of fiber. With 1 cup of cooked beans packing around 15 grams of dietary fiber, beans are the perfect solution to this fiber gap. Increasing fiber intake would help manage key risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. The protein content of beans also helps keep us full.

Beans are rich in potassium - and potassium-rich foods can help manage high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. In fact, one serving of white beans contains about the same amount of potassium as a banana. The American Heart Association shares how potassium can reduce the effects of sodium. The more potassium eaten, the more sodium lost through the urine. In addition, potassium helps ease tension in blood vessel walls.

➡️ You can read more about beans and heart health on the Bean Institute website.

As we shared in one of our 2024 e-newsletters, a recent review funded by the Coalition for the Advancement of Pulses - supported by NBGA - found that eating beans and other pulses is associated with lowering LDL-cholesterol levels, or "bad" cholesterol. This can help promote heart health.

Moral of the story? Beans are a very healthful, nutrient-dense food, and regularly consuming beans as part of our diets can promote cardiovascular health. This makes them a perfect choice not only during American Heart Month, but all year long.

Northarvest BeanGrower: Winter 2025 Issue

The most recent issue of the Northarvest BeanGrower is now available on our website. NBGA wants to thank everyone who contributed to this issue! We appreciate AgWeek's partnership in bringing this important resource to life.

The Northarves BeanGrower Winter 2025 issue has articles about a diverse array of topics, as you can see in the Table of Contents below. We are proud to work with such an incredible group of growers and stakeholders to share Northarvest beans with the world.

Bean Conference in Cancun a Success

The US Beans, Peas, Lentils, Chickpeas MX-Latam Conference was held in Cancun, Mexico from January 23 - 25, 2025 at the Hotel Kempinski Cancun. Hundreds gathered for this educational and networking event centered on bean/pulse production and trade trends from the United States and beyond.

The first day of the conference was a welcome reception, with the second day dedicated to panels and an evening reception. The last day focused on one-on-one meetings and ended with a final networking lunch. Of course, beans featured heavily during all meals.

➡️ Explore the conference website here.

As you can see below, the Northarvest region was well-represented at the conference!

L to R: David Scholand (Central Valley Bean Co-op), Eric Samuelson (NBGA Director and Past President), John Berthold (President of Green Valley Bean Company and of the Midwest Dry Bean Coalition [MDBC]), Joe Mauch (NBGA Vice President and Director, and NBGA USDBC Delegate), Dan Fuglesten (General Manager Central Valley Bean Company), Dylan Karley (North Central Bean Dealers Associate Delegate to the USDBC & MDBC Vice President), Raul Caballero (President of Mercalimentos and USDBC Mexico Representative)

Dylan Karley was a panelist on the first panel of the conference, the US Dry Bean Crop Report panel. Karley is the Vice President of the Midwest Dry Bean Coalition, General Manager of Johnstown Bean Company and North Central Commodities, a bean grower, and the North Central Bean Dealers Association Delegate to the USDBC.

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

• ➡️ February 7, 2025: NDSU Extension dry bean breeder Dr. Juan Osorno highlights a new black bean variety called ND Galaxy, which is demonstrating high yields, good plant architecture, and more.

• ➡️ February 1, 2025: NDSU Extension Broadleaf Specialist Anna Carcedo highlights topics that will be covered in the upcoming Getting It Right Dry Bean Production Webinar (February 10th). This program is sponsored by NBGA

• ➡️ January 22, 2025: NBGA Executive Director Mitch Coulter discusses a Section 32 purchase of dry edible beans to address the current supply situation.

• ➡️ January 16, 2025: North Central Commodities General Manager Dylan Karley discusses his upcoming role as a panelist at the USA Dry Beans, Peas, Lentils, Chickpeas Mx-Latam Conference in Cancun, in January 2025. In the panel discussion, Karley will discuss the Northarvest 2024 dry bean crop, and the 2025 outlook.