2012 NYS Dry Bean Meeting

March 19, 2012


The 2012 NYS Dry Bean Growers Meeting will be held Monday, March 19th at the LeRoy Country Club, 1 mile east of LeRoy. The featured speaker is Paul Varner, Treasure Valley Seed Co, who will describe the process of producing the high quality, disease-free dry bean seed, and will explain why using certified seed is so important. Varieties, dry bean breeding progress, insect, disease and weed control updates, cover crops, dry bean promotion and markets, and Worker Protection Standard news will be covered. Lunch will include delicious, healthy NYS dry beans. 2.25 DEC credits, plus CCA credits, will be available. Save $5 by pre-registering!

Cornell staff will give complete reports on the progress made in bean breeding and varietal/breeding line evaluation for yield, early maturity, quality, processing and heat tolerance. Trials were conducted on-farm in Western NY and at the Cornell Vegetable Research Farm in Freeville. Robin Bellinder, Cornell, will report on her research on weed management in zone till production, and will review new herbicides with promise for controlling weeds in dry beans.

New York dry bean growers may see the first damage from the Western bean cutworm in 2012. The pest feeds on bean pods and seed and has been increasing each year in corn and dry bean fields in NY, since its first occurrence in 2006. Luckily we've learned much from the experience of growers and researchers in Michigan and Ontario, Canada, where it appeared a few years earlier. This information will be shared so NY growers can be prepared.

There were never so many good cover crop choices! Thomas Bjorkman, Cornell, will describe the benefits of specific cover crops in a dry bean rotation. Several grass cover crops can increase soil organic matter and improve soil water-holding capacity to help get the bean crop through dry spells. Crucifer cover crops offer the promise of reduced soil-borne diseases and/or weeds, and reduced compaction. Share your experiences and join the discussion.

There will be an update on the promotional activities of the National Dry Bean Council as well as a discussion of current dry bean markets. US dry bean acreage in 2011 was the smallest since about 1921 and the crop was down about 38% from the previous year.

Learn what all agricultural employers need to know about complying with the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Even if only family members work on the farm you need to comply with certain provisions of the law. More WPS inspections are coming. John Wainwright, DEC Region 8, Bath, will review what you need to do to be prepared.

The Dry Bean Meeting is sponsored by Genesee Valley Bean, Gowan, King Cole Bean, New York Bean and Treasure Valley Seed.


2012 NYS Dry Bean Mtg Agenda (PDF; 135KB)