Featured image: Harvest time in the Northwest, courtesy of Cody Anderson with L&L Ag Production in Connell, WA. More photos are shown below.
MARKET
Colorado Western Slope:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, told us on Oct. 2 that the Colorado program is moving into the storage crop. “We’re transitioning from fresh harvest/ship to storage, so our offerings will be reduced starting later this week and continuing through Oct. 15 or so,” he said. “We will transition on all colors.” We asked David about transportation, and he said, “Transportation, for us, has not really been a problem. We are paying about the same rates this week that we were paying a month ago. Typical for this area, is you have to wait for trucks to get unloaded in other areas, and so we don’t see them until late Monday through midday Saturday. But other than that, it seems normal to better on nonrefrigerated transportation. Refers are medium to tight.” David expressed his sorrow for those who are contending with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. He said he is “one who has lived on the coast his whole life [but] it’s still difficult to comprehend the damage and loss.” He noted that not surprisingly the industry impact has been “huge.”
Colorado Western Slope/Corinne, UT:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on October 2 that this week has been “doggy,” adding, “Business is a bit slower, and the marketing is trending down.” He added that his Colorado onions have great quality and good size, and he said, “We’re hanging in there.” About transportation, he said, “Yesterday was very weird – we had trucks lined up and lost every one of them. It’s strange to lose them all, and it wasn’t just us. Today it is better, though.
Idaho-E. Oregon
Dwayne Fisher with Tamura Farms in Wilder, ID, and Champion Produce in Parma, ID, reported on October 2. “Red equals HOT!,” Dwayne said. “That is what is starting to happen in the red category this week. Canada buying, Mexico sending in buyers for personal visits wanting to book block loads, and when you couple that with our normal volumes on our mixers, reds are in HOT DEMAND. We have strengthened our prices there this week and will continue to do so. Our yields from the field on reds isn’t anything to brag about, so those puppies are going to generate some action. Which is needed because what some sheds are doing on yellows makes absolutely zero sense.” He continued, “Demand in general has been moderate at best, but lowering the price to get orders only slows down buying. If that is what we were looking to do, mission accomplished. For our farms and growers, we are only packing our contracts and program business currently because there is absolutely no reason to move these things below production costs when everything is going to fit in the barn. I guess if we are going to give them away, we will at the end of deal and make sure the imports take a blood bath with us. No reason to do that now when the domestic supply is in control.” And he said, “Trucks are plenty tight, and the hurricane tragedies are unbelievable. We certainly support transportation being utilized to address those life sustaining needs. I’ll end on a positive note, the white market is seeing some action too and that price is stable and looks to strengthen as some additional markets look to be opening soon.”
Chris Woo reported to us on September 11, saying, “Demand is fairly light and market pricing is steady,” Chris said. “Growers and shippers both are concentrating on harvest and crop storage. Weather has been ideal last week for harvest and storage. Cool nights Indian summer days and dry. It’s been one of the nicest conditions we’ve encountered for onion harvest. Fortunately no hurricanes here.” He continued, “More good weather of the same is forecasted for the next two weeks. Hopefully, by then harvest should be finishing up for the season. We have a good crop tonnage wise of hi quality larger sizes on all 3 colors being put away.”
Northwest/Peru:
Dan Borer with Keystone Fruit Marketing reported in on October 2 from his Walla Walla, WA sales office. “The market is steady on imports,” Dan said. “We have had good business and movement. Due to the East Coast port strike, the Peruvian supply is stalled for now. The quality has been good and sizing has been good as well. We’ll just have to see what shakes out on this strike supply chain-wise.” Dan commented on the Northwest. Harvest here is about two weeks from finishing. Overall movement is strong if you look at the USDA numbers, but the industry may not be feeling it, because there are so many people in the game. Looking at the yields, there may not be extra reds and a shortage could be expected sooner than normal. However, until everyone puts all of their onions in the barn, it is difficult to assess what will happen moving forward.” Dan continued, “It’s typical that late September and early October have some dips in the market, which is not a big issue. Pricing usually bounces back toward late October, and again, much of that has to do with how full storages get and planning to manage supplies through spring.”
Washington:
Cody Anderson with L&L Ag Production in Connell, WA provided us with a report on October 2. “The crop looks nice so far and we’re seeing great quality to this point,” Cody said. “ Weather has been just about perfect and allowed us to put away nice clean, dry onions.” Cody continued. “Our prayers are with anyone affected by Hurricane Helene, the damage all the way up to the Carolinas has been devastating to see. We will see how that affects the market, it’s dipped some recently, but we really need to watch what’s happening with the Longshoremen strike on the East Coast. That will have a tremendous effect on our industry. A fair amount of equipment we use is imported through the East Coast in addition to some onion imports. I’ve read that the West Coast longshoremen group has agreed not to unload anything that is turned away on the Atlantic side during the strike. Hopefully, this can be resolved quickly before things get too backed up at the ports.”
Larry Bauman with L&L Ag in Connell/Pasco told us on October 2, “Yesterday was a very busy news day, the big debate last night, the rocket attack on Isreal, the longshoremen going ahead with the strike, the pictures coming out of the devastation and damage to the S.E. part of our USA, and the news at 1:00 pm that Lamb Weston is permanently closing their processing plant in our small town of Connell laying off 375 workers.” Larry continued, “Starting with our town, the local grocery store is in a major construction project on a completely new building and a new Ace Hardware store is nearing completion. On the ag side the impact of several farms that are working to bring Bureau of Reclamation water to very good dry land, those using well water to stop draining the Odessa Aquifer. On the storm damage, it looks like major damage to the onion production area of Georgia. In visiting with a friend from that area a major impact on the transplanted new crop will be felt next year.” And, he said, “Thankfully, the West Coast longshoremen are in the middle of their 3-year contract so equipment we are planning to receive from Europe should not be affected. There will be a major impact on the exports from Peru if the strike goes through a couple of weeks. It is amazing to be living at this time and see how God has his hand on Israel, and we believe what the Bible says about the coming end times with the Middle East being the focal point, not the USA. VIP election 4 weeks from today.” Larry concluded, “Harvest is going well with normal yields and very good quality.”
Thank you to Cody Anderson and Kerrick Bauman for this week’s photo gallery. Note: the sweet little doll on the tractor is Cody’s daughter. She is in training to work on the farm.
Brenden Kent with Sunset Produce in Prosser told us on October 2, “We are all wrapped up with harvest on our end. I think about 30% of the crop remains out in Washington still. So far the hurricane has been a bit of a challenge with logistics and we have seen flatbed rates as high as reefer rates this past week. I expect that to stay that way for a little while until things get settled down south.” He continued, “The strike could be a curse and a blessing. The blessing could be it will keep some of the imported Onions out of the country and of course, it could raise the cost of goods so hard to say.”
Washington/Colorado/Kansas:
Matt Murphy with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, provided his report on October 2 and OnionBusiness first asked about the hurricane and the L&M team. “We are all good here. Team members and family members are safe,” Matt said. “To the west of us, there was so much devastation that no one could have anticipated. The entire region is helping those affected.” Switching to onions, Matt said, “Our grower in Warden has about two weeks left on harvest.” Matt continued, “Storages are definitely getting full. Quality is excellent!” He continued, “This week, demand is off a bit. We are shipping all sizes and colors, but the dip is pretty typical for this time of year.” Matt also commented on L&M’s Colorado and Kansas programs. “We are wrapping up Rocky Ford and will be done next week. Our Ulysses, KS deal is going very well. This is the biggest crop in Kansas that we have ever had. We’re shipping all colors and sizes and the program is going great!” When asked about freight, Matt said, “Freight isn’t a problem. If the strike starts to cause issues, that may be ahead of us, but all is going well so far.”
Idaho/Oregon/Utah/Michigan/North Dakota:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID provided his report on October 2. “We’re shipping out Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Michigan, North Dakota,” Rick said. “We have nice smaller yellows and reds coming out of Michigan and the North Dakota has some larger sizes and all three colors. Quality of everything we’re shipping is very good and we have no complaints.” Rick continued, “Demand this week isn’t on fire, but that’s no surprise. It happens about now. The volume on reds right now is tight, so demand on those and the market on reds is good. Demand for yellows and whites is off and the market for those is squishy.” Rick also commented on current events. “We haven’t seen any effect on trucking due to the strike, or with trucks needed to the hurricane zones,” Rick said, “Transportation is good so far, but we can’t make a guess on what lies ahead.” Rick also gave a familiar reminder, “Don’t forget, we have Idaho Cipollinis and pearls, so come and get ‘em!”
CROP
S. Texas/Mexico:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen told us on October 2 that both S. Texas and Mexico are on schedule with the planting for 2025. He said there is “plenty of water in Mexico, and Texas is improving.”