MORDEN, Man. – Driving southwest of Winnipeg into the highly productive “golden triangle” of farm land, Rob Templeman was impressed.
“All I could think of was, ‘holy smokes’, ” said Templeman, a soil and crop specialist with the Ontario government.
Last week, he got his first look at the land and met a number of the farmers who have helped pull bean production westward from Ontario to Manitoba.
The migration has happened far more rapidly than the Ontario industry expected, said Templeman.
He noted Manitoba fields are big, and land prices are attractive.
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In southwestern Ontario, where most beans are grown, land rent averages $125 to $225 per acre, and sells at $3,000 to $5,000 per acre.
Ontario processors need 100,000 acres worth of beans, said Templeman, and if Ontario farmers don’t grow them, processors will freight them in from Manitoba.
Because of poor soybean prices, Ontario farmers will expand bean production to about 70,000 acres this year, said Templeman.
This is about twice as many as they planted last year, although well below historical production levels.
Templeman thinks Manitoba farmers will plant 110,000 acres of beans this year, up from 55,000 last year.
Blair Roth, special crops manager with Agricore in Lethbridge, said he expects Manitoba farmers to plant 180,000 acres of beans in 1999.
In 1990, the province planted only 30,000 acres of the crop, Roth noted.
Beans have switched places with lentils in the province. In 1992, farmers grew more than 160,000 acres of lentils. Last year, less than 20,000 acres were planted to lentils, said Roth.
Saskatchewan farmers might reach 9,000 acres of beans this year, up from 3,000 in 1997, said Roth.
Alberta growers will plant about 55,000 acres. In Saskatchewan and Alberta, beans are grown exclusively under irrigation.
Ivan Sabourin of Roy Legumex Inc. in St. Jean, Man., said he expects Canadian farmers will plant 170,000 acres of navy beans this year, the most common variety grown in Manitoba.
But across North America, farmers will increase navy bean acreage to 540,000 acres from 461,500 last year, he said.
Sabourin noted a few large canning companies dictate demand for navy beans.
He expects overall demand for navy beans to drop in coming years because they are consumed primarily in Europe and North America.
South America and Mexico will be the largest growth markets for beans, said Sabourin. Consumers there eat black, pinto and small red varieties.
Sales to Cuba
Canadian pinto bean growers did well last year compared to U.S. growers, said Sabourin.
Canada scooped up Cuban sales because of the U.S. embargo on trade with the country. Government food aid programs were also large buyers.
More bean acres will pressure processing capacity in Canada, said Roth, who added he thinks companies will likely attempt more value-added processing in the next five years.
“You need a cast iron gut and big pocket- book” to take on value-added processing, said Roth.
Agricore has developed an instant refried bean product for institutional markets in the United States that Roth said has been moderately successful.
