To subscribe to Agweek, click here. Since North Dakota grows more than half the pinto beans in the United States, this points to a modest reduction in pinto plantings. This is mildly positive for pinto prices, certainly more positive than the price outlook for most beans.
Pintos are one of the few beans more expensive now than a year ago.
New crop bids are 17 cents. Last year, Canada grew 40,000 metric tons of pintos, mostly in Alberta and Manitoba, out of a total bean crop of 294,000 metric tons. The United States grew 492,000 metric tons of pintos in 1999. New crop bean bids dropped modestly last week. This will discourage 2000 plantings.