From pinto to black to navy, North Dakota grows more dry edible beans than any other state, and the small, hardy legume has become a fixture of the plains rotation.
The dry edible bean is an unassuming crop — no towering stalk, no fluorescent bloom — yet North Dakota grows more of them than any state in the country. Pinto leads the roster, followed by black, navy, kidney and pink, each destined for a different corner of the national pantry, from the chili pot to the canned soup.
A Small Seed with a Long Reach
Beans reward the grower who can read the weather at harvest, for the crop is pulled and windrowed to dry before it is threshed, and a wet spell can stain the seed and dock its grade. Like other legumes, the bean fixes its own nitrogen, leaving the ground in good heart for the next crop in the rotation.
From the almanac's reckoning:
- North Dakota leads the nation in dry edible bean production.
- Pinto is the leading class, followed by black, navy and kidney.
- Beans are windrowed to dry before threshing to protect seed quality.
Much of the crop moves through grower-owned handling and packaging operations before it reaches the grocery shelf, keeping a share of the value on the plains. The almanac counts the bean among the humblest and most dependable of the state's crops.
Elsewhere in the Almanac
Reading the Sky: Drought, Irrigation and the Missouri's Water
In a state where most crops drink only what the clouds provide, the recurring specter of drought keeps every grower's eye on the rain gauge — and turns some toward the water of the Missouri.
Flax Returns: The Blue-Flowered Crop Finds New Favor
Prized for its oil and its omega-rich seed, flax has staged a quiet comeback across the plains, its brief blue bloom once again dotting the northern fields.
Passing the Land On: The Delicate Art of Farm Succession
As a generation of plains farmers reaches its later years, families across the state wrestle with the hardest harvest of all — handing the farm to the next hands, or letting it go.