Acreage Overview
In 2025, approximately 130,000 acres of dry beans were insured by Agricorp in Ontario. This is higher than the 116,000 acres harvested in 2024 and the highest since 2020, when over 156,000 acres of dry beans were harvested in Ontario. The acreage of each market class in 2025 is presented in the table below.
Acreage compared to 2024
There was a significant increase in acres of white and kidney beans, a modest increase in cranberry beans, a small decline in black beans, and a significant reduction in adzuki bean acres. Agricorp has not yet reported average yields.
Table 1. Seeded acreage of dry bean market classes reported to Agricorp in 2025
| Market Class | Acres in 2025 |
| White | 63,528 |
| Black | 20,549 |
| Cranberry | 11,602 |
| Kidney | 19,310 |
| Adzuki | 9,842 |
| Japan/other | 4,689 |
| Total | 129,520 |
Planting and Early Season Conditions
Most dry beans were planted in good condition and at the ideal timing during the first 10 days of June. Emergence was slow in some fields because of cool conditions. There were very few issues reported in the first half of the season. In many fields, the newest trifoliate wilted and turned necrotic during episodes of extreme heat (Figure 1). This is often referred to as sunscald and occurs because new tissue is tender and cannot tolerate intense sun, but it does not result in economic damage.
Disease Pressure
Disease issues were minimal throughout the season. Most dry bean diseases occur when conditions are moist, and this season was very dry. White mould is common in dry beans in Ontario, but there were very few reports in 2025.
Figure 1. Wilting and necrosis of the top trifoliate during extreme heat.
Insect Pressure
Two-spotted spider mites thrive under dry conditions and were observed in many dry bean fields this year. Dimethoate was applied to control mites in many fields, although sampling of the insects in recent years has indicated some populations of spider mites are resistant. Another active ingredient, spiromesifen (active ingredient in Oberon), is registered for use in dry beans but has high costs per acre. More information about insecticide-resistant two-spotted spider mites can be found on Field Crop News.
Seed Fill and Maturity Challenges
During seed fill, the impact of dry weather became more apparent. Plants appeared to have good pod set, but few seeds per pod. In some fields, it was difficult to determine if the crop was mature enough for pre-harvest herbicide applications because plants retained green leaves even though most seeds on the plant had fully changed colour. Regrowth on sandy fields was also reported. Hollow beans were observed, particularly kidney and cranberry beans, and it is assumed this was caused by a lack of moisture (Figure 2). Many fields had highly variable maturity, making harvest timing difficult. There were also fields of large-seeded beans with a very high percentage of deformed and aborted beans. In Ontario, where this occurs in patches, plants remain green and 100% of the beans on an affected plant are deformed or aborted; this is often called “green patch”, for lack of a better term. There is no diagnosis for these symptoms, but some suspect it is related to environmental conditions and the plant’s hormonal response to conditions.
Harvest Summary
Dry beans matured early because of dry conditions, and harvest began in early September. The lack of rain through harvest allowed producers to finish quickly. Adzuki take longer to mature, and the harvest of adzuki continued into mid- to late-October. The moisture of the beans was very low at harvest, which can result in increased split beans and cracked seed coats. Agricorp have not released yield data yet. Yields are reported to be below average.