Horsagers donate a “ton” of beans
by Trinity Gruenberg
With a ton of organic black beans stashed in their barn, Clarence and Mary Horsager of Verndale found a way to give the beans to those in need.
The Horsagers have been farming edible beans the last 25 years. They grew potatoes for 14 years and switched to edible beans, such as kidney beans, the last 25 years. Clarence explained their soil is great for beans.
With the change-over they also had to purchase special equipment to harvest the beans.
For the last three years they have been growing organic black beans and selling them to a company in Michigan that processes and distributes them to organic restaurants.
“You just have to try something different,” said Clarence.
Clarence noted that they are a smaller bean with a good yield, but they do not plan on growing any more beans in the future.
This year they had more crop than the trucks could handle. The leftover black beans were stored in the Horsagers’ barn. Clarence reached out to other fellow black bean farmers to see if they wanted to take the leftovers to add to a load they were hauling, but there were no takers.
Mary would prep a batch of beans and freeze them. She sent some home with their six adult children and anyone else who wanted them. That barely made a dent in the pile. . . .