Dry bean acreage has grown throughout North Dakota recently and makes a good rotation choice in many areas. Most dry bean production is located in the eastern counties, although significant acreage is grown throughout North Dakota.
Beans are a warm season crop which prefers fertile, well-drained soils.
Good, but not excessive, moisture during the growing season and dry harvest weather favor high yields and quality. Nitrogen nutrition is important in dry bean production not only to sustain high yields, but also because of quality concerns. Excess nitrogen can cause maturity delays and encourage leaf canopy growth, which may promote disease incidence. Maturity delays and increased disease infection may affect the market price that dry bean producers receive. Therefore, nitrogen management is especially important to dry edible bean culture.