Dry Bean Harvest Nears

With harvest just a couple of weeks away, this year’s dry bean crop has had to overcome adverse weather. “Spotty weather has some places looking good, while others could have caught some earlier rains here, and I think they would have more potential, but overall, I think the crop looks fair,” explains Andrew Ladwig, director of seed business, ADM Seedwest. White mold has been a problem in areas that received excessive rainfall. “With all these heavy winds and rain events, it just opened up the crop to disease,” said Ladwig. “Aside from fungicide, variety selection is key, and then row spacing. But, there are those who say if you don’t have some white mold in your crop, you don’t have a crop either.”