Featured image: 2022 Hall of Fame inductees, Jon Watson (left), and Jim Farmer (right)
Back again in Ontario, OR, at the Four Rivers Cultural Center, the 2023 Idaho-Malheur County Onion Growers Meeting will be held on Feb. 7. It will feature a full slate of informative sessions and a lively trade show.
2023 Hall of Fame inductions will take place during the event’s luncheon as well.
According to Stuart Reitz, director of Oregon State University’s Malheur Station in Ontario, this year’s meeting is expected to bring a good turnout.
“It’s always a pleasure to see who gets named to the Hall of Fame at lunch,” Stuart commented. “And it’s never too soon for young folks to start on their Hall of Fame careers. People interested in serving on the Idaho-E. Oregon Onion Marketing Order can contact Candi Fitch for information. Nominations and elections are held during lunch at the meeting.”
Describing the 2023 presentations, Stuart said, “This year, we have Gina Greenway updating information on the cost of producing onions. Riley Griffin talks about overall economic conditions in ag and what to expect in 2023. Good or bad, it’s still info people should hear. Jen Uranga will walk through the H2-A program and provide updates to it and how growers can make it work for them.”
He added, “Matt Reardon, part of the Nutrien weather forecasting team, will give an outlook on the upcoming season’s weather. Their forecasts are pretty good, so I wouldn’t bet against their predictions. And Jeff Steiner, director of the OSU Global Hemp Innovation Center, will speak on OSU’s new USDA Climate Smart Ag grant. A large focus of the grant is to help growers implement climate-smart practices on their farms by defraying the costs. Despite Jeff’s affiliation with the hemp center, the grant is not about hemp – the focal point is potatoes in the PNW but has opportunities for growers not involved with spuds. And we’ll have the regular complement of research presentations.”
676 SW 5th Ave.
Ontario, OR 97914
ID Credits 2; OR Credits 4 (1 Core); CCA Credits 5
| Topic | Speaker | Start | End |
| Registration/Coffee | — | 7:00 | 8:00 |
| Welcome, Seed Bucket, Door Prizes | Corey Maag, MCOGA President | 8:00 | 8:05 |
| Thrips Management in the Treasure Valley | Stuart Reitz, OSU | 8:05 | 8:35 |
| Cost of Production and IPM Analysis for Treasure Valley Onions | Gina Greenway, Greenway Consulting | 8:35 | 9:05 |
| Weather Impacts on Agriculture: 2023 Outlook | Matt Reardon, Nutrien | 9:05 | 9:40 |
| Seed Report – Seminis | Richie Navarette | 9:40 | 9:50 |
| Break / Trade Show | 9:50 | 10:30 | |
| Climate Smart Agriculture – Managing Soil Health for Climate-Smart Outcomes | Jeff Steiner, OSU | 10:30 | 11:00 |
| H-2A, The Past, Present and Future | Jen Uranga, Mountain West Ag Consulting, Gem Ag Professionals | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| AgWest Farm Credit – 2023 Economic Outlook | Riley Griffin, Agwest Farm Credit | 11:30 | 12:00 |
| Lunch, Hall of Fame, Marketing Order Elections | Candi Fitch I-EOOC Elections | 12:00 | 1:00 |
| Trade Show | — | 1:00 | 1:45 |
| Welcome, Seed Bucket, Door Prizes | Jarom Jemmett, IOGA President | 1:45 | 1:50 |
| Seed Report – BASF-Nunhem’s | Bret Ross | 1:50 | 2:00 |
| Diversity of bacterial diseases in the Treasure Valley | James Woodhall, University of Idaho | 2:00 | 2:30 |
| Impact of temperature on the development of storage rot by Rahnella spp. | Brenda Schroeder, University of Idaho | 2:30 | 3:00 |
| Updates on Onion Diseases and Their Management | James Woodhall, University of Idaho | 3:00 | 3:30 |
| Seedcorn and Onion Maggot Management in Onions | Stuart Reitz, OSU | 3:30 | 4:00 |
