Did you know Canada is a world leader in bean production, exporting our high-quality beans to more than 70 countries? That’s right, our high-quality beans are the talk of the town.
Who can we thank for ensuring nutritious and delicious beans are on dinner plates? Canadian bean farmers! It’s the farmers whose hands are in the ground making the magic happen, from preparing the soil and planting seeds to caring for the plants through maturity and harvest!
Meet the Farmers
Canada is rich in many types of food experiences, so let’s explore our vast regions and all the delicious foods they have to offer!
Explore the regions
Beans are planted every year between early May to early June. The typical growing season for beans lasts 90-115 days, with harvest happening in mid-September. Farmers closely monitor their crop throughout the growing season to make sure the plants stay healthy; mitigating any risks that could cause the crop damage like pests, weeds, and disease.
Mid-September is harvest time! Beans are ready to harvest when the plant turns brown and the seeds are sufficiently dry and hard. Beans are harvested by combining or by direct harvest.
Once harvested, beans are delivered to an elevator where they are electronically sorted, cleaned, and polished. Beans that are too large, immature, damaged, or discoloured (along with any stones, sticks, or mud) are all discarded during sorting. All those perfect beans are then stored in silos, ready to be shipped.
Now more than ever, consumers are interested in where their food comes from and its impact on the environment. As part of a balanced and diverse diet, beans are a food choice with a low environmental impact.
Bean farmers know that beans are efficient users of fertilizer, utilizing less nitrogen than other crops grown in rotation. This benefit means beans reduce greenhouse gas emissions from crop rotations, as fertilizer is a large source of farm greenhouse gas emissions. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a program that is also used by farmers to safely manage pests. Several economically and ecologically sound control methods are implemented, ensuring food and environmental safety at every level of growing and production.
Canadian bean farmers are always innovating and investing in research to improve farming practices to help take care of the environment and communities in which they farm.
Beans are the future, and we aren’t afraid to shout it from the rooftops! Whether you include beans in your homemade meals or look for new and exciting sustainable food products that include beans (looking at you bean burgers), one thing is for sure, incorporating beans as an ingredient can reduce the carbon footprint of the final product. We think that’s a yummy win!
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