We know the market prices for beans has been high over recent years with increasing demand as fish farming has grown and the dairy sector seek to reduce soya from their feeds. Opportunities abound so it is a great time to reintroduce beans to your rotation. Or maybe you are a bean grower and wish to learn more and improve yields.
Come and learn about organic bean production from industry experts and though peer-to-peer learning. Our event aims to answer your questions about growing beans.
Context
The demand for protein is great and growing. Beans are considered a more challenging crop due to disease and potential weed ingress into the crop as it senesces later in the season and so bean acreage has fallen. Accepting this is not an option if we are to supply the market need and so we need to learn how to grow beans better.
Who Should Attend?
Farmers with an interest in growing organic beans to learn more about how to do it and to hear more about a new research project to help improve bean knowledge, you can engage with.What will you learn?About current best practice. About beans as a break crop to extend your rotation. About bean breeding and the new varieties that are forthcoming and about what the market is looking for in a bean sample. What others are doing and how they are managing their crops.
10:00 Event Introduction and Market
The purpose of the day, context on the bean market Andrew Trump
10.15 View from the Mill
Processors requirements and the buyer’s perspective Mole Valley Farmers
10:30 Opportunities and Challenges
An open discussion from all stakeholders sharing their perspectives
11:30 PGRO Perspective Research and future work including Q&A
Descriptive Lists, research and the pulse sector Chris Judge - PGRO
11.50 Bean Breeding
Challenges of Breeding for Beneficial Traits for organic farming.
Michael Shuldman - LSPB
Catherine Howarth - IBERS
12:15 Bean Agronomy (& Working Lunch)
Technical guide to bean cultivation Dominic Amos, All
13:30 Farm Walk
Visit to a bean/wheat bi-crop.
Discussions in-field about the crop, growing beans, bi-cropping and data from the field
15:00 LiveSeeding – Living Lab Proposal & Trials
Working together to foster innovation through research Dominic Amos / Henny Lowth
15:30 Event close and departure
Speakers from guest organisations may change