Snap Bean Production

Snap beans are a vegetable crop in the legume family that lend themselves well to small-scale and part-time farming operations. Initial investment is relatively low, and many field operations, such as land preparation, planting, and mechanical harvesting, can be custom hired. Equipment needs on a small-acreage farm are not very great, and most of the equipment can be used for other purposes.

Snap beans originated in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. They were grown by Native Americans throughout North America in a traditional companion planting strategy with squash and corn known as the “Three Sisters.” They continue to be an important crop, and U.S. farmers began breeding the bean around 1890 because of interest in bean varieties with stringless pods.

The United States harvested snap beans for two basic purposes: processing and fresh marketing. In recent years, the U.S. has harvested an average of around 177,000 acres of snap beans with a value of over $278 million (64 percent from fresh market). Pennsylvania harvested an average of almost 7,100 acres of snap beans with a value of over $8.3 million (34 percent from fresh market).

Marketing

Fresh-market snap beans usually are produced in Pennsylvania from June through October. Snap bean cultivars recommended for Pennsylvania are listed in Table 1. Six marketing alternatives are available to snap bean growers: wholesale markets, cooperatives, local retailers (grocery stores), roadside stands, pick-your-own operations, and processing firms.

Fresh-market snap bean growers have several marketing options. First, you can contract with shippers to market and ship your snap beans for a predetermined price. You can also ship your crop to a wholesale market like a produce auction, but you may face considerable price fluctuations depending on supply and demand conditions at the time. One way to avoid these fluctuations is to join or form a marketing cooperative that uses a daily pooled cost and price that spreads price fluctuations over all participating producers. Local retailers are another possible market, but you must take the time to contact produce managers and provide high-quality snap beans when stores require them. Roadside stands (either your own or another grower’s), farmer’s markets, and pick-your-own operations provide opportunities to receive higher than wholesale prices for your snap beans, but you may have some additional expenses for advertising, building and maintaining a facility, transportation, and providing service to your customers. With pick-your-own operations, you save on harvest costs, but you also must be willing to accept some waste. Depending on your location, processors may or may not be a marketing option. Snap bean processors generally contract with growers before planting for a predetermined quantity and price; they are less likely to contract with small-acreage growers (those with less than five acres).

For more information on marketing, consult Agricultural Alternatives: Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for small-scale and Part-time Growers.

For pod length, sieve size, use, heat tolerance, and reported disease resistance see the Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide or seed catalogs/websites.

Production Considerations

Snap beans (green beans, bush beans, and string beans) grow best on soils that hold water well and have good air and water filtration. Soil should have a pH of 5.8 to 6.6. Snap beans require a constant supply of moisture during the growing season. Irrigation is important during periods of drought to ensure optimum plant growth, a uniform pod set, and robust development. Water deficiency or stress, especially during the blossom-pod set period, can cause blossoms and pods to drop, resulting in a poor-quality crop and reduced yields. However, excess water at any time during growth can increase the plant’s susceptibility to root rot infection, which also can reduce yields. For more information on crop irrigation, consult Agricultural Alternatives: Irrigation for Fruit and Vegetable Production.

Snap beans are sensitive to cold temperatures and will die from a slight frost. The best average air temperature range for the growing season is between 60° and 70°F; temperatures above 80°F or below 50°F will slow the growth and maturation of the crop.

Planting and Fertilization

Snap beans can be planted in the spring when soil temperatures reach at least 55°F and ambient air temperatures are at least 60°F. With adequate soil moisture, which is essential for optimum germination, seeds usually emerge in less than seven days. Successive plantings can occur every two weeks through August. The seeds should be planted 0.5 to 1.0 inch deep, but if soil is very dry in June or July, place the seeds 1.5 inches deep so that they will obtain adequate moisture and will germinate within a reasonable number of days after seeding.

Snap beans can be planted at either low or high densities, depending on the cultivar, soil type, pest management practices, and available equipment. With low-density plantings, plant 75 to 90 pounds of seed per acre in rows spaced 30 to 36 inches apart with 6 to 10 plants per linear foot of row. For high-density plantings, plant 100 to 140 pounds of seed per acre in rows spaced 18 to 24 inches apart with 5 to 7 plants per linear foot of row.

Fertilizer rates should be based on annual soil test results. If you are unable to conduct a test, the recommended N-P-K application rates are 60-40-40 pounds per acre. Broadcast half of the nitrogen and all of the phosphate and potash at planting. Side dress the remaining nitrogen four weeks after planting. Growers also should check boron levels in their fields because snap beans are sensitive to high soil boron levels.

Pest Management

Weed control can be achieved with herbicides and a good crop rotation system. Snap beans compete well with weeds, but they should be kept weed free until they have developed a good crop cover. Several preplant and postemergence herbicides are available for snap beans, depending on the specific weed problem and the bean growth stage. If infestation levels are mild, cultivation can minimize weed problems. Use non-chemical weed control whenever possible.

Insects can be a major problem in snap bean production. Aphids, leafhoppers, and European corn borer all can cause crop losses. Monitoring insect populations with traps or by scouting will help you determine if you should use pesticides and how often you should spray.

Several diseases, such as root rot and white mold, can reduce snap bean yields. These diseases can be controlled by using disease-resistant cultivars and by having a good crop-rotation system and soils with good air and water filtration.

Harvest and Storage

Snap beans contracted for processing, as well as many of the fresh-market beans grown on larger acreages (more than five acres), are mechanically harvested. Harvesting snap beans with hand labor is cost-effective only on small acreages. Regardless of the harvesting method, check the beans for pod size, weed debris, worms, and insects to ensure that you are marketing a high-quality product.

Proper postharvest handling of snap beans is essential if you are to be a successful marketer. Cooling the beans after harvest will remove field heat, which improves shelf life and keeps the beans from wilting. Snap beans will retain good quality for approximately seven days if stored at 90 to 95 percent humidity and 45°F.

Environmental Regulations

All agricultural operations in Pennsylvania, including small-scale and part-time farming enterprises, operate under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law. A specific part of this law is the Nutrient Management Act. Portions of the act may or may not pertain to your operation, depending on whether you have livestock on your farm. However, all operations may be a source of surface or groundwater pollution. Because of this possibility, you should contact your County Soil and Water Conservation District to determine what regulations may pertain to your operation.

Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices

Good agricultural practices (GAP) and good handling practices (GHP) are voluntary programs that you may wish to consider for your operation. The idea behind these programs is to ensure a safer food system by reducing the chances for foodborne illnesses from contaminated products reaching consumers. Also, several major food distribution chains are beginning to require GAP- and GHP-certified products from their producers. These programs set standards for worker hygiene, use of manure, and water supply quality.

These handling practices require an inspection from a designated third party and there are fees associated with the inspection. Prior to an inspection, you will need to develop and implement a food safety plan and designate someone in your operation to oversee this plan. You will need to have any water supply used by your workers or for crop irrigation and pesticide application checked at least twice each year. See a checklist of the questions to be asked during the inspection. For more information about GAP and GHP, contact your local extension office or your state’s department of agriculture.

Risk Management

You may wish to consider several risk-management strategies for your operation. First, you should insure your facilities and equipment. This may be accomplished by consulting your insurance agent or broker. Second, you may wish to insure your snap bean crop with crop insurance. Third, you may wish to insure the income of your entire farm through a crop insurance program called Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP).

Crop insurance is a federally subsidized program that is available from private crop insurance agents. Crop insurance for processing beans (snap and lima), available in fifteen Pennsylvania counties, is based on your actual production history and you choose the level of protection that best protects your farming operation. The deadline to sign up for this insurance plan is March 15. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) is another crop insurance option that insures the revenue of your entire farm (including any livestock) by guaranteeing a percentage of your approved farm revenue. WFRP uses information from the past five consecutive years of your Schedule F tax records to calculate the policy’s approved revenue guarantee. The sign-up deadline for WFRP is March 15 for calendar year and early fiscal year tax filers and November 20 for late fiscal year tax filers.

Finally, the USDA Farm Service Agency has a program called the Non-Insured Assistance Program (NAP) that is designed to provide a minimal level of yield risk protection for producers of commercial agricultural products that don’t have multi-peril crop insurance coverage. NAP is designed to reduce financial losses when natural disasters cause a catastrophic reduction in production. NAP coverage is available through your local USDA Farm Service Agency office. The application fee for this program may be waived for eligible limited-resource farmers.

For more on agricultural business insurance, see Agricultural Alternatives: Agricultural Business Insurance. For more information concerning crop insurance, contact a crop insurance agent and the publication Crop Insurance for Pennsylvania Vegetable Crops.

Budgeting

Included in this publication are two annual single-crop (56-day growing period) snap bean production budgets to download (PDFs). Both budgets utilize custom hire for most of the field work, which could be more economical for small-acreage growers. If you have your own equipment, substitute your equipment costs for the custom hire costs. The first budget summarizes the receipts, costs, and net returns of snap beans contracted for processing. The second budget summarizes the receipts, costs, and net returns of fresh-market snap beans. These sample budgets should help ensure that all costs and receipts are included in your calculations. Costs and returns are often difficult to estimate in budget preparation because they are numerous and variable. Therefore, you should think of these budgets as an approximation and make appropriate adjustments in the “Your Estimate” column to reflect your specific production and resource situation. More information on the use of crop budgets can be found in Agricultural Alternatives: Budgeting for Agricultural Decision Making.

You can make changes to the interactive PDF budget files for this publication by inputting your own prices and quantities in the green outlined cells for any item. The cells outlined in red automatically calculate your revised totals based on the changes you made to the cells outlined in green. You will need to click on and add your own estimated price and quantity information to all of the green outlined cells to complete your customized budget. When you are done, you can print the budget using the green Print Form button at the bottom of the form. You can use the red Clear Form button to clear all the information from your budget when you are finished.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to use these forms. If you do not have this program installed on your computer, you can download a free version.

Sample Budget Worksheets

• Sample Snap Bean Budget - Conventional (PDF)
• Sample Snap Bean Budget - Plasticulture (PDF)

Initial Resource Requirements (Conventionally Grown Snap Beans)

• Land: 1 acre
• Total hourly labor: 10–12 hours
• Harvest labor: 10–14 hours
• Capital: $4,100 to $5,200 per crop
• Equipment needed: Tractor 75hp or larger, irrigation boom

Initial Resource Requirements (Plasticulture Snap Beans)

• Land: 1 acre
• Total hourly labor: 12–14 hours
• Harvesting and packing labor: 10–14 hours
• Capital: $3,700 to $4,700 per crop
• Equipment needed: Tractor 75hp or larger, irrigation boom, mulch

For More Information

Dunn, J.W., J.W. Berry, L.F. Kime, R.M. Harsh, and J.K. Harper. Developing a Roadside Farm Market. Agricultural Alternatives series. University Park, PA: Penn State Cooperative Extension, March 2006.

Dunn, J.W., J.K. Harper, and L.F. Kime. Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for Small-scale and Part-time Growers Agricultural Alternatives series. Penn State Cooperative Extension, May 2009.

Harper, J.K., S. Cornelisse, L.F. Kime, and J. Hyde. Budgeting for Agricultural Decision Making Agricultural Alternatives series. Penn State Cooperative Extension, March 2019.

Hochmuth, G. J. and R. G. Sideman. Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers, 6th Edition. New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2022.

Lamont, W.J., Jr., J.K. Harper, A.R. Jarrett, M.D. Orzolek, R.M. Crassweller, K. Demchak, and G.L. Greaser. Irrigation for Fruit and Vegetable Production Agricultural Alternatives series. Penn State Cooperative Extension, November 2001.

Lamont, W.J., Jr., M.D. Orzolek, J.K. Harper, L.F. Kime, and A.R. Jarrett. Drip Irrigation for Vegetable Production Agricultural Alternatives series. Penn State Cooperative Extension, February 2012.

MacNab, A. A., A. E. Sherf, and J. K. Springer. Identifying Diseases of Vegetables (AGRS-21). Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, 1994.

Wyenandt, C.A., and M.M.I. van Vuuren, coordinators. 2020/2023 Mid-Atlantic Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations. University Park: Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, 2022.

Prepared by Elsa S. Sánchez, Professor of Horticultural Systems Management; Lynn F. Kime, Senior Extension Associate, Farm Management; and Jayson K. Harper, Professor of Agricultural Economics.

This publication was developed by the Small-scale and Part-time Farming Project at Penn State with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Extension Service.