Tim, I've asked the same for quite a few yrs. Some here note decline due to RRSB, however even before RRSB we had STS beans & they didn't win any contests either. I think we grew better beans in the early-mid 70s than now. They were mostly bin-runs which as you know is only used by non-progressive type farmers. Could be....but they yielded pretty good.

I think we've been told by seed companies that varieties offer BEAN yields that have gone up 1 or 2 or 3% or more annually, but I'd bet that most NE IL farmers would disagree with that thought & agree w/your observations.

Obviously if beans would yield more consistently, they wouldh't have lost all the acreage they did in '07. Most in this area lack confidence in beans to yield consistently. When they fail to yield, answers seem impossible to get as to "why".