Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1908-09-16
Michigan Farmers Will Harvest
5000, 900 Bushels This
Year. &.
An INCREASE OF 20 PER CENT
w. c. Vliet Attends Meeting OF
Bean Jobbers at Grand Rapids.
Gets Much Information.

W. @. Vliet returned Friday from
Grand Rapids where on Wednesday and
Thursday he attended the meeting of the
state bean jobbers association held in
that city. Mr.. Vliet had an excellent
time and returned home well pleased
with his visit. In speaking of the bean
crop this year he says beans will bring
good price to the farmer. They will
open close to the 81. 90 mark and promise
to stay there.
J. A. Heath of Lenox, president of the
association in speaking of beans said:
There will be so per cent OF full crop
of beans in this state. The crop when
harvested will be something like 5000,
900 bushels. There is nearly a 20 per
cent increase in acreage this year,
though the season, or part of it, has not
been favorable for the CROP,
Michigan leads in the raising of
beans and her white pea is the best grown
anywhere on this continent and conf
mands the top price in the market"
There is constant increase in the
consumption of beans in the United
States and had 1t not been for the inn
portation of ? 900, 600 bushels of foreign
grown beans, beans today would be s. a
bushel"
$3.50, 900 was spent last year by can
ners in advertising canned beans This
increased the demand very large per
cent and consequently the canning fac
tories take an enormous quantity of beans
early"
There will not be over 1 5 per cent of
the crop of Red Kidney beans harvested
this year that was marketed in 1907"
Burdick Potter of Fenton read an in
teresting letter on "Bean Statistics" He
led off with this statement which ought
to set the farmers to thinking seriously
on the subject of tariff revision.
Were it not for the present high pro-
tective tariff on beans the Michigan farm
ers would soon be driven from the field
by his foreign competitor This was
fully demonstrated during the past year
when foreign beans to the amount of ,.
239,ooo bushels were entered at the ports
OF New York and Boston or OF per cent
OF the entire foreign crop and nearly
half as much as was harvested in this
state" Mr.. Potter said the European
acreage had been increased IS per cent
this year and owing to the cheap labor
over there beans can be produced at
smaller cost than i'll Michigan or any
other state in the union Canada has an
acreage this year of 30, 900 with An esti-
mated yield of Is bushels per acre Wis
consin from advices received will not
raise enough to supply the demand of
Milwaukee this year. New York will
raise this year about the same amount as
in 1907.
The Pacific coast states will harvest
big crop, but it is Michigan that is look
ed to for the banner bean crop.
The estimated acreage Of the white pea
is 35S, 500 or 5000 acres less than a year
ago. This is due to the cold, wet spring.
From reports gathered at different points
Mr. Potter said the yield would vary
from 10 to 20 bushels per acre. At pres
emit the estimated condition Of the crop
was so per cent Of normal. Speaking of
the red kidney he said the acreage this
year was very small, compared with that
of year ago.
The bean jobbers association is COM
posed of bean buyers of various Michi-
gan towns and cities. The bean men at
St. Louis Ithaca, Breckenridge, River
dale, Shepherd and Mt Pleasant are also
members and many were in attendance.