It's a busy time in the Pacific Northwest for green bean growers. The Washington season is coming to an end but growers in Oregon have only just finished their final planting and are in the middle of their harvest. The region has also experienced excessive heat which has kept growers busy keeping up with the crop. However, despite the challenges brought on by the heat, overall volume is close to the average.
"We have been picking beans now for almost a month, with the season expected to continue through to October," said Bill Case of Bill Case Farms. "We only just finished our last planting yesterday. It's been tough with the hot weather. We have managed to stay ahead of it in the fields where we have watered every three days. Additionally, the weather forced us to pick every day until last weekend when we had to stop because we were running out of beans. This week we are getting a lull in the hot weather which has brought some relief."
Low prices early, picking up now
At the start of the season, producers were faced with strong supply and relatively weak demand, causing prices to sink. Things have turned around now and the market has improved with better demand, especially locally.
"It's been a good season price wise and demand is now very strong," Case noted. "Early on, we had to sell green beans to a packer in California for a low price just to move product. Now we are able to sell much more locally and we have stopped the packing deal for now. California is also picking beans while Washington is running out now. The strong local demand has held prices firm."
Sticking to larger boxes
Case said that his farm loads beans in 15lb. and 30lb. boxes. After buying machinery to pack smaller packs, they eventually found the investment was not worthwhile as receivers' desired pack configurations became too changeable.
"We started packing beans in 1lb. and 2lb. plastic bags, then the preference changed to different sizes," he said. "Afterwards, it changed again to involve mesh bags. Having bought particular machinery from Italy for this purpose, now we have equipment to sell because it's not being used. Now we are back to mainly selling in 15lb. and 30lb. boxes."
He added that quality is the foremost consideration for the company. "As we deal exclusively in fresh market green beans, we hand grade them before packing, very often though the night," Case shared. "We focus on having the best quality and are therefore very selective when it comes to the varieties we grow."
For more information:
Bill Case
Bill Case Farms
Tel: +1 (541) 979-1888