Dry bean demand is up 230-300 percent since the pandemic began.
The Executive Director for the Michigan Bean Commission, Joe Cramer, says that most of the fall harvest supply has been sold and their biggest concern is running out.
Cramer states, “There’s a finite number of seed, and two or three years ago, they didn’t anticipate this added demand, so seed is very tight. That’s going to put a bit of a lid on upside in acreage. We’ve got a long time to go where we’re counting on Mother Nature to be kind to us so that we don’t have problems with what’s in the field... Our total supply is either growing right now or will be planted shortly.”
He went on to say that it is unfortunate growers can not take advantage of the higher prices because it was priced near the end of December, but it has been good for the industry and he rather see it stored in a pantry than in a silo.