Featured image: Columbia Basin onion field, part of this week’s photo gallery courtesy of Robert Bell
MARKET
Washington/Idaho-E. Oregon:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms reported from his Salem, OR, office on Aug. 21, saying, “Right now I am moving mostly Washington product and just got going with shippers out of Idaho-E. Oregon at the end of last week. The new crop Washington onions have very good quality – in fact, some of the best quality I have seen in a long time. It’s been fairly warm lately, but what is being harvested now looks nice, and there is still room for the storage crop to gain some size.” He continued, “I would rate demand as ‘OK’ and pretty even across the board for size and color. On the market side of things, I think everyone has been waiting for it to settle out. and I think we’re there. There is no way the market is going to crash or anything like that. We should see good stability moving forward.” And, John said, “Another upside for the Northwest season is that there has been some good export inquiry for Asian markets, and that’s a good sign.”
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Dwayne Fisher with Champion Produce Sales in Parma, ID, weighed in on Aug. 21, saying, “Hurry up and finish! I think these words describe the state of our market and industry right now.” Dwayne continued, “The West has been in hurry-up mode to get in on what was a really good market, while California/New Mexico are in clean-it-up or get-finished mode. Given these factors there is some flux in the transition as we have seen the market slip more than it ever should have – my opinion.” He went on to say, “On a positive note big stuff remains tight and priced accordingly. That trend should continue. Jumbos have softened and are now rapidly approaching break-even levels, and growers, I believe, will stop harvesting varieties that can store to stop pressuring the market down.” Dwayne added, “Long-term it looks like we will have great quality and a positive market. I have heard other growing areas that come off in the winter/spring say maybe they should go up in plantings after they saw the returns of the summer. I would say, ‘Easy, fellas. Recalculate those returns now… not much meat on the bone…’ Doing this for 20 years the one thing I do know about an onion market is the best way to not get one is to plant more acres.” And, he said, “There is another true principle on the movement side, and that is the best way to slow movement is lower the price. When my phones get quiet, I head to the fields and walk them or go out to the unloading station and see what is coming off the trucks. As I have done that this year, I come back way more bullish not to go down on my price!” Dwayne said, “Early in my career a wise veteran gave me some valuable advice. She told me when it is slow, stay OFF the phones, let it be and buyers will buy when they need product. I have never forgotten that. As marketers that directly impact our farms and growers’ livelihoods, we should take some time to go enjoy the sun and get some exercise walking the fields. We will have refreshed and positive attitudes about what lies ahead as we do!” He concluded, “Things look very positive as we move forward and growing areas actually get completely finished. Our quality is fantastic, and bottom line, as so many of our customers have said, boy are we glad to be back!”
Northern Colorado:
John Harris with Paradigm Fresh in Fort Morgan said on Aug. 19, “The markets are beginning to stabilize to some degree. New Mexico is mostly done. California has onions, but they seem to be staying close to home. Washington and Idaho-E. Oregon are now our go-to regions.” John said that Colorado “has a few onions as does Canada and New York,” and he added, “Prices are a little sporadic on yellows from shed to shed, and quality seems to be hit and miss. We generally speaking have been getting what we are paying for.” John continued, “We have onions here in Fort Morgan, but we are still about three weeks out from being as competitive as we need to be.”
New York:
Michelle Gurda with A. Gurda Produce in Pine Island reported to us on Aug. 21 that this week has been slow on demand. “It’s typical for this time of year, but the last couple of weeks have been very slow for onion sales,” Michelle said. “People are traveling and getting kids back in school, and so it’s no surprise that demand has slowed down. In the next several weeks, we should see volume pick back up.” She continued, “We have been shipping yellows, reds, and whites from the West, and the quality improved over the last three weeks. We also harvested our New York transplants, and they look pretty decent.” Michelle said market conditions have settled down. “We had a great market for the summer, particularly on jumbo and medium yellows, and the market has dropped significantly. It has stabilized now, and it should stay that way at least for the next several weeks. The new direct-seeded crop looks decent so far, and we will start harvesting toward the end of the month.”
Broker’s Perspective:
Jason Vee with Vee’s Marketing in Superior, WI, gave us his take on the current market this week. On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Jason wrote, “Markets are settling. The bleeding seems to have subsided, at least for now. It wasn’t reasonable to expect to sustain $20 markets after the Northwest started. But it still stings riding that declining market back to single digits.” He continued, “That being said, we are still not in a bad place for markets. We haven’t given it all away. Markets are still just a bit higher than contract pricing. That’s a good place to be if we can hold it.” The question, Jason said, is, “But can we hold it? September is always slow. Really, the entire fourth quarter gets pretty slow. I do a fair amount of Canadian business, and they should be mostly into local yellows and reds by next week. That puts a dent in U.S. demand.” He said in the end, “I have my fingers crossed. I’m cautiously optimistic that we hold something resembling current markets and have a good storage season.”
CROP
Wisconsin:
Doug Bulgrin with Gumz Farms in Endeavor told us this week that the Gumz crop is progressing well. “Though the new season start is just a little late due to early planting conditions, the crop looks great and is expected to be above average this year.” He added, “We will start harvest around the first part of September. There will be some early red transplants ready to go that first week but we will begin running full steam around Sept. 14-16.”
Western Colorado/Corinne, UT:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on Aug. 21 the recent heat has been good for Western Slope and Utah onions. “John Harold said the heat has helped his crop catch up,” Don Ed said. The Olathe, CO, harvest and season start should kick off just after Labor Day, between Sept. 6-10. In Utah growers are describing “the best stand ever,” Don Ed said, noting similar weather conditions there. “They’re looking for their season to start early to mid-September,” he added.
Washington:
Larry Bauman with L&L Ag Production in Connell, WA, gave us this report on Aug. 21: “The North planted (Othello) crop is sizing more than we thought it would four weeks ago, but they will need to finish correctly which will cause a late harvest.” Larry said, “Time will tell how things will turn out this year.”
