<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Iq4Hr_1GqYJqxp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Iq4Hr_1GqYJqxp00" width="1500" height="1043" >Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central FloridaFall is in full swing, and so is Florida snap bean season. After planting in August and September in Central Florida, they start coming off the field in October and November, just in time for that Thanksgiving green bean casserole. In fact, from November to April, our state is the primary domestic supplier of this crop. In 2025, there were 33,000 acres of snap beans planted in Florida, with about 193 million pounds harvested worth about $95.3 million, and providing about 16.6% of the nation’s snap bean supply. This makes the state the top producer in the nation for snap beans in terms of crop value, followed by Wisconsin at $51.7 million. In terms of total production, Florida ranks second overall, behind Wisconsin with about 499.6 million pounds harvested. The disparity in rankings largely comes down to how the beans are sold. Most of Wisconsin’s snap beans, like much of the nation’s crop, are grown for canning or freezing rather than sold fresh. Because beans destined for processing typically bring lower prices, growers receive about $10 per 100 pounds. Florida’s crop, meanwhile, is almost entirely for the fresh market, winning a higher price, about $49.90 per 100 pounds. This allows Florida to grow less than half the volume while producing nearly double the value of Wisconsin. Historically, Central Florida was a notable growing region for snap beans. In the late 1990s, northern Tampa Bay was the state’s third-largest snap bean growing region, with Hillsborough County alone having nearly 15% of the state’s bean farms. While the crop is still grown in Central Florida, today, most production occurs in South Florida, with Miami-Dade alone growing more than half of the state’s acreage, followed by Palm Beach County. Some production also occurs in North Florida in Alachua County and the Suwanee Valley. Snap beans, also known simply as “green beans,” are a very fast-growing crop, reaching maturity in just 45 to 67 days. This allows growers in the warmest regions (like Miami-Dade) to fit three plantings into a season: fall, winter, and spring. There are two types of snap beans, bush and pole. Bush beans, true to the name, grow as a small, compact bush, while pole beans are vining plants that require a support such as a trellis to grow. Most beans grown in Florida are the bush type, which also mature faster, allowing for more plantings. A number of pests affect snap beans, including aphids, spider mites, and the Mexican bean beetle. One growing concern is the Asian bean thrips, an invasive pest whose presence in Florida was first confirmed in 2020. It’s a major pest that’s capable of wiping out an entire bean field. Research on the pest is underway at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Hillsborough County, led by UF/IFAS entomologist Hugh Smith. Nearly all of Florida’s snap beans are machine-harvested, with each field picked just once per planting. Because growers stagger their plantings, fields come ready one after another from fall through spring. After harvest, the beans are washed, cooled in chilled water, graded, and packed, then held at 38 to 40F for shipping. They’re then transported across North America in refrigerated trucks, mainly to the Northeast, Midwest, and Canada. Snap beans are rather sensitive to the cold, taking damage at 28F in as little as 30 minutes, and the freeze Florida saw early in the year caused a near-total loss of green beans in the Immokalee area. </div></body>

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Fall is in full swing, and so is Florida snap bean season. After planting in August and September in Central Florida, they start coming off the field in October and November, just in time for that Thanksgiving green bean casserole. In fact, from November to April, our state is the primary domestic supplier of this crop.

Florida Snap Beans Pull In the Green

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Fall is in full swing, and so is Florida snap bean season. After planting in August and September in Central Florida, they start coming off the field in Oc

Florida Snap Beans Pull In the Green

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