The Thumb feeds America its beans
Michigan's Thumb is the nation's powerhouse for navy and black beans, and Tuscola County farmland is at the heart of it.
Ever eaten navy bean soup? The U.S. Senate dining room serves a famous version daily. Odds are good those beans grew within an hour of Caro. Michigan ranks at the top of the nation in dry-bean production. It leads the country in black beans and small red beans, and it ranks among the leaders in navy beans. The Thumb is the engine. Tuscola, Huron, and Sanilac counties grow the bulk of the state’s crop. They farm the flat, tile-drained land the glaciers left behind.
It’s a quietly big deal. Elevators in the small towns clean and ship beans around the world. Bean fields turn the September countryside gold. The harvest is a season unto itself. Sugarbeets, beans, corn, and wheat rotate through the same dark fields. That is why Thumb farmland is some of the most productive in Michigan. It’s also some of the most tightly held. Around here, “bean counter” is an honest profession.