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

This past month, we had our Board Meeting, and we have continued to be very active in our communities, as you will see in the NBGA in the News and on the Move section of this newsletter. For example, NBGA collaborator Chef Lauren Zobac was on North Dakota Today to showcase delicious bean recipes sure to make viewers hungry. We also wrapped up Living Ag in the Classroom for this season. Several Board members shared their impressions from participating - you can find their quotes in this newsletter. Also, be sure to vote in this month's poll for your favorite bean drawing! Students created these drawings as part of Living Ag in the Classroom, and we need your help choosing a grand prize winner.

Happy Spring, and happy reading!

Past President Eric Jorgenson welcomes new NBGA President Tony Richards in the quarterly Northarvest meeting in March of 2025.

April 2025 Newsletter Table of Contents:

• Bean Poll: Help Us Select a Bean Drawing Grand Prize Winner!
• USDA Weekly Dry Bean Market Review
• NBGA Partners with a Chef
• Bean Institute: Beans for Brunch
• Bean Nutrition Corner: Beans - Good for Us, Good for the Earth
• Upcoming Bean Webinar
• Northarvest in the News and on the Move
• The Dry Bean Scene

Bean Poll

Thank you to everyone who participated in our March 2025 poll. We are glad to hear that people are enjoying the numerous playlists we have on the NBGA YouTube channel. Below, you can see the breakdown of what respondents have most recently watched.

For our April 2025 poll, we are asking you to help us select a bean drawing grand prize winner!

Jennifer Hansen, NBGA Finance Director, organized the bean drawing competition. She shares, "This year Teacher Bags containing various games and contests were handed out at each Living Ag Classroom event. One contest involved bean drawings, and three elementary schools entered. Pingree-Buchanan Elementary (Buchanan), Longfellow Elementary (Minot), and John Hoeven Elementary (Minot) each submitted drawings from their 4 grade classes. Ten winners were selected out of the forty-seven entries. The winners each received a certificate, and stickers made from their drawings. Now it is time to select a Grand Prize champion from the winning pictures. The winner will receive an extra special prize and title of Best Bean Drawing for School Year 25-26."

Check out these impressive winning 10 bean drawings - and please vote below to help us select the grand prize winner!

Thank you to all of our participants,

and congratulations to the bean drawing contest winners!

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.

• April 1, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com April 1, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.37 MXN. According to the NASS Prospective Plantings Report March 31, 2025, Dry Edible Beans is 1,407,000 acres, Dry Edible Peas is 895,000 acres, Lentils is 1,100,000 acres, and Chickpeas is 561,000 acres."

• March 25, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com March 25, 2025, one USD is equal to 20.06 MXN."

• March 18, 2025: "Compared to last week: Trade remained light with mostly steady bid prices. According to XE.com March 18, 2025, one USD is equal to 19.95 MXN."

We hope you enjoyed Chef Lauren Zobac's recipe we released last month for Minestrone Soup. You can find that recipe video up on our YouTube channel now.

This month, Chef Zobac is back with another recipe. White Bean & Basil Hummus is both simple to make and packed with fresh flavor! You can serve it with vegetables, crackers - even bean crackers or chips! - or honestly just eat it by the spoonful.

You will see a sneak peek in the news segment she did on North Dakota Today, linked to in the NBGA in the News & on the Move section of this newsletter. The official recipe video will go live Thursday, April 10th at 7 pm on NBGA's YouTube page. Be sure to keep an eye on the NBGA social channels for more videos.

With holidays like Mother's Day around the corner, brunch often comes to mind. Last year, Jenna Braddock, RDN wrote an article for the Bean Institute called Beans Are in Their Brunch Era. She writes about the many reasons to have beans star in your next brunch meal, ranging from their versatility, to the numerous delicious recipes they can be enjoyed in, to the nutritional and health benefits beans bring to our meals. Not to mention, beans are affordable and grown right here in the Northarvest region!

Below are four ideas of bean-forward brunches - we hope you enjoy!

Photos from the Bean Institute website

In their March 2025 newsletter, the highlighted Bean Institute article was about springing into nutrition with beans: "Whether you’re planning a weekend hike, a picnic with friends or a simple spring-inspired dinner, beans are the perfect addition to your seasonal menu." The article links to several fresh, flavorful recipes and explains why beans fit perfectly with spring meals.

➡️ Read their full post, Fueling Spring Adventures with Beans, here.

In recognition of April 22, 2025 being Earth Day, we wanted to share about a recent article that discussed the benefits of beans and other pulse crops (e.g., chickpeas, dry peas, lentils) for both people and the environment. The peer-reviewed scientific publication - Pulse Crops: Nutrient Density, Affordability, and Environmental Impact - was authored by researchers Drewnowski and Conrad, and published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition in 2024.

Article abstract - full article available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1438369

What Did the Researchers Do?

The researchers used USDA and other federal agency databases to compare pulses to other protein foods, both animal and plant proteins. They examined nutrient content, price, and environmental impact. To assess environmental impact, the metrics used were greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand.

Key Takeaways

As the authors point out, "Pulses are a source of low-cost plant-based protein and a variety of priority vitamins and minerals, have low carbon footprint and energy demand, and are a valued culinary ingredient across diverse regions and cultures."

The results of the study revealed the positive impacts of pulses for all three major focus areas:

• Beans are nutrient dense. Pulses are rich in dietary fiber and many important nutrients, such as protein, potassium, and folate. The authors acknowledged that the protein content of pulses is lower than foods like meats and fish, but emphasized that pulses are still rich in protein. As we have discussed in previous newsletters, beans and other pulses are one of the top plant foods in terms of protein content.
• Beans are affordable. With regards to protein specifically, the researchers' comparison of protein foods showed that pulses were the lowest cost protein source. When expanding this nutritional lens to also include nutrients beyond protein, pulses are one of the most affordable nutrient-rich foods. The study results reveal that "effectively pulses offer the most protein (and other key nutrients) per penny."
• Beans afford numerous environmental benefits. Pulses had the lowest environmental impacts - for both greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand - of the protein foods in this study.

➡️ You can find the full article here.

Growing and eating more beans is a great way to celebrate Earth Day!

Photo contributed by Jed Brazier.

Moral of the story? Beans are an affordable, nutrient-dense food, providing benefits for the well-being of both people and planet.

On Monday, May 5th, NDSU is hosting a webinar all about beans, Bean There, Cooked That: Unpacking the Nutritional Power of Dry Beans. The webinar will be held via Zoom, from 9 - 10:40 am Central time. A wide array of interesting topics will be covered, as you can see below.

You can read more about the upcoming webinar in this AgWeek article.

Register by clicking the button below. Please help us spread the word!

Tony Richards, NBGA Treasurer & Incoming President

"The biggest thing I took away was that even though you grow up in a state like North Dakota, most of the kids - especially in a bigger city - can't relate to agriculture. To put a face to a farmer is the most beneficial thing because it brings a human aspect. Driving around, they all see the farm equipment, but often not the people running it. Programs like Living Ag in the Classroom make it personal, and I think that is so important. When they meet a farmer, it might not be like a farmer they see in a book - but he might look just like their dad. Plus, students learn what is grown in their region, and they remember. Now, when they go to the grocery store, there is a good chance they are buying something that the farmer they met grew.

You get all sorts of questions from the students. One of the questions I got was, 'How long does it take to grow 1,000 carrots?' I joked one week, and he didn't believe me. I told him he was right, more than one week, and we brought the conversation back to beans. Just like adults are more invested when it's personable, so are children. They're more impressionable at this age, and it's good to introduce them to agriculture - and of course to beans." 

Dexter Cronquist, NBGA Director 

"Living Ag in the Classroom is great for the kids! They learn a lot about beans in the short time we are with them. It's good for the kids to get out of their own classrooms and learn a bit about where their food comes from. A question we often get is "How do we grow jelly beans?". They often seem puzzled when they learn that they come from Sugar Beets!"

David Wieler, North Dakota Dry Bean Council

"I really enjoyed helping with the Living Ag in the Classroom. The excitement of the kids when they hear about the source of beans and how they are raised is a great thing to witness. I really think that this is very important outreach to do because I feel that this is possibly the only contact that some students get with "farm to fork" experiences. The students seemed to be the most interested in how the whole process worked from seed in the spring to how they end up in the store."

Photo from the SWOF article

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

• ➡️ April 4, 2025: NDSU Extension Plant Pathologist Sam Markell discusses the disease outlook for the season ahead. He makes several recommendations, such as the importance of scouting for rust.

• ➡️ March 28, 2025: NDSU Extension Weed Management Specialist Joe Ikley talks about this year’s desiccation trials and preparation for the upcoming growing season.

• ➡️ March 21, 2025: Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association Executive Director Harrison Weber outlines the combination of the International Sugar Beet Institute and Bean Day events in 2026. He expresses why he is excited to partner for this event.

• ➡️ March 14, 2025: NBGA Executive Director Mitch Coulter discusses the turbulent tariff situation and its impacts on trade.