Colorado Dry Bean Administrative Committee

The Colorado Dry Bean Administrative Committee mission is to promote the Colorado dry bean industry via research and marketing. The Committee was created in 1988 by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as a market order committee. It has a part-time administrator and is governed by six directors. The directors are composed of four growers and two dealers who are actively involved in the Colorado bean industry.

The Committee receives an assessment of 6 cents per hundred weight from the sale of beans grown in Colorado. Growers pay 4 cents per cwt and dealers pay 2 cents. The average annual revenues for the Committee range between $40,000 and $60,000. Because of limited funds, the directors have decided to fund three primary activities: Colorado State University bean research, membership in the United States Dry Bean Council(USDBC) and publish the Colorado Bean News. These three activities typically account for over 80% of the Committee's annual budget.

The Colorado Bean News is our primary means of communicating with Colorado growers and producers. It is published twice a year by Dr. Howard Schwartz and Mark McMillian of Colorado State University. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter or change your subscription information please use the Contact Us tab.

The USDBC is a nationwide bean association comprised of other state grower/dealer groups as well as private industry members. It represents the U.S. dry bean industry to the U.S. federal government, primarily in the U.S. Congress and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), promotes U.S. dry beans within the United States and represents the industry on governmental affairs matters such as U.S. Congressional legislation, the U.S. Farm Bill, and other regulatory issues affecting the bean industry.

The Committee's activities are supervised by Wendy White of the Colorado Department of Agriculture's market order division.