A US pinto and black bean outlook ahead of the 2026 harvest / Historic acreage cuts, a stress-hit growing season, and grower prices soaring above last year - Pulse Pod

US pinto and black bean acreage has fallen sharply ahead of harvest, with industry estimates pointing to cuts deeper than USDA figures.
Heat and drought across North Dakota and Minnesota have reduced yield potential, leaving crops with little room to recover before harvest.
Grower prices are already 60–75% above last year, while tighter US supply and limited competition from Brazil and Argentina point to a volatile market.

Acres down by the steepest YoY margin ‘in history’; industry estimates drop lower than USDA

“The US numbers that were reported were previously around a 36% decline in pintos and a 34% decline in black beans, but the caveat to that is that those numbers are working off of the June 30 USDA crop report, not off actual data. The industry estimates for North Dakota, Minnesota is more like 40% decline on pintos and a 45% decline on black beans. So, we're actually seeing a higher decrease in acres than we had forecast or predicted. It's actually one of the biggest single-year decreases that we've seen on the pinto beans and black beans in history.”

“Michigan is forecast to be down around 7 or 8% on total edible beans planted. Their navy beans went up and their small red beans went up. Their black beans are actually going to be down in Michigan about 20%. And then on pintos, North Dakota, Minnesota being the biggest area down, close to 40%. Then Nebraska, Colorado had a real lack of moisture due to reduced snowfall in the mountains. Their planted pinto acres are down about 30%."