Rain and hail make for a devastating black bean crop in west central Minnesota
RAYMOND, Minn. — Dan Ohden grows corn, soybeans and black beans and raises hogs on his farm in west central Minnesota. He says this year he has seen a lot more variability in his black bean crop than normal.
"Just really a lot of variability in maturity," Ohden said.
They had a lot of rain in that area at the beginning of the season and then in mid-July a hailstorm caused severe damage to his black bean fields. Now he is dealing with weeds and a decreased crop yield.
"Then we had a really bad hailstorm after we'd had lots and lots of rain, so it set the crop back a bit. And it's been kind of a struggle for weed control all year," Ohden said. "So, it's not a very pretty crop here in west central Minnesota."
The rain played a big factor in the weed issues.
"We put down a pre-plant (herbicide) for weed control, and it didn't hold the best because of all the rain," he said. "Then we sprayed a couple of post applications and cool weather during the spring season that really tended to make the weeds not die very well. So quite a few escapes."
The hailstorm stripped the crop of its canopy, which has provided the weeds with more space to grow.
"So, the weeds have had a party since then," Ohden said.
Diseases haven't been as big of an issue though.
"A little bit of blight. But honestly that hail was pretty devastating," he said. "So, the disease has been, you know, there hasn't been a whole lot of canopy so white mold really hasn't been such an issue."
The hail did set the black bean crop back this year.
"These were the first planted field that I had, but they're the last field to desiccate just because the hail kind of kept them green longer than we would like," Ohden said. "It's been a struggle beginning to end."
Ohden hoped to get the field harvested in the beginning of October, which is similar to previous years.
"So, we're not too late I guess," he said.
Ohden, a director on the Minnesota Dry Bean Research and Promotion Council, is already looking ahead to next year.
"I'm looking forward to next year," he said. "It'll be good to start with a clean slate."
