02/15/05 What`s the future for dry bean production

There could be some dark clouds on the horizon for Idaho dry bean growers. The executive director of the US Dry Bean Council Randy Duckworth spent a couple of days last week with Idaho growers, telling them that there a problems thanks to the Bush administration. DUCKWORTH "If the president's proposed budget goes through its going to cut 300 million dollars from USDA which is used to purchase food aid of which beans is an important part. And if they don't purchase those beans it means we have to sell them in other maybe less profitable fashions." The US government is the largest buyer of dry beans for use in food aid programs. The president's budget proposal also cuts research money and that could impact work at the University of Idaho and in Washington State. Duckworth says there's also a looming international threat from China where bean-growing methods can best be described as primitive. DUCKWORTH "That there's tremendous room for improvement so even if they don't plant more beans they have a great ability to improve on their methods and as a result obtain greater yields and greater quality over time." But Duckworth says Idaho growers will enjoy new markets for bean seed sales to countries that are not in the exporting business. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott