ENHANCING ORGANIC DRY BEAN PRODUCTION IN THE NORTHEAST AND UPPER MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES

Dry beans are a lucrative crop with potential for organic field crop farmers, and yet despite strong regional market opportunities, production is limited by biotic stressors (e.g., diseases and weeds), knowledge gaps that prevent new farmer entry, and lack of optimized management strategies. Dry beans also represent an opportunity to diversify crop rotations, reduce external inputs and regenerate soil health, especially when grown as part of a system with cover crops and reduced tillage. For example, the growth of organic small grains for regional supply chains in the Northeast and Upper Midwestern regions has created a need for high-value legume crops to increase rotational diversity and farm profitability and has fostered new markets for regionally grown staple crops. However, regional knowledge of dry bean production, once plentiful within farming communities, has diminished greatly, and investments in research and extension have been minimal within these regions. The major goal of this project is to increase the sustainability of the organic dry bean industry in the Northeast and Upper Midwestern regions by overcoming production challenges and developing improved management practices that build soil health and resilience to climate change. To attain this goal, there are four objectives:(1) identify dry bean types and varieties best suited to organic production; (2) develop best practices for the management of diseases and weeds in organic dry bean; (3)devise a productive and profitable cover crop-based no-till system that improves soil health and increases resilience to weather fluctuations for organic dry bean production; and (4) support adoption of management strategies to increase and stabilize organic dry bean profitability and provide decision-making tools to farmers through a broad range of outreach and educational methods.