Featured image: Kansas crop progress. Photos courtesy of Hayden Bingham with L&M Companies.
MARKET
Washington:
Matt Murphy with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, provided his report on August 21. “We are rocking it all out of Warden, WA now,” Matt said. “It looks like a great crop and we are shipping all three colors. The size profile is on the smaller side, mostly mediums and jumbos.” Matt continued, “The market seems a little soft on yellows, but that’s pretty typical for this time of year with more and more Northwest shippers coming on, so it’s not a big concern.” When asked about freight, Matt said, “Transportation’s good. We can load flatbed and there isn’t much competition with other produce items this time of year so we’re in good shape.”
Idaho-E. Oregon
Steve Baker with Baker & Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR, told us on August 21, saying, “We started packing Aug 14th,” Steve said. “We are shipping all 3 colors right now, and so far, the quality of the early onions has been very good. Demand has only been fair this week. With new areas starting up and old areas trying to clean up, demand has been pulled from different directions.” Regarding the market, Steve commented, “The market out of Idaho/Oregon has been mostly stable this week. The exception might be the dip in price on the medium yellow market.” On transportation, Steve noted, “Truck transportation seems to be plentiful at this time.”
New Mexico:
James Johnson with Carzalia Valley Produce in Columbus told us on August 21 that the company will finish its onion season on Friday, Aug. 23. “Overall, it has been a good season, and we don’t have any changes in the works at this point,” James said. “As always, we will be planting the 2025 crop in five weeks, so the cycle continues.”
Walla Walla:
Michael Locati with Locati Farms and Pacific Agra Farms in Walla Walla said on August 21 the Walla Walla Sweet Onion harvest was over, and the operation had switched to its hybrid crop. About the Walla Walla season, he said, “Crop and quality were excellent. The market pressure and grocery store pricing made it difficult to move hand harvested onions against the trade-down to mechanically harvested product. [But] all in all, growers should be happy with the crop raised and pricing for Walla Walla Sweet Onions.”
Washington/Oregon:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms in Salem, OR, told us on August 21, saying, “We are done in California and we’re now shipping out of Washington and Oregon,” John said, “The quality of onions looks good, with little effect from the heat. Honestly, most shippers know what they are doing, so any onions with issues never make it in the bag so quality is expected. Out of the gate, we’re seeing smaller onions, but it all depends on what field is being harvested and when. Smaller-sized onions to start is not necessarily how the whole crop will go. It’s just the start after all.” When asked about the market, John said, “There is some low pricing out on mediums and for people trying to get cleaned up. I would expect any lower prices won’t last long once everyone gets their onions cleared out and the southern regions completely end their season.” On transportation, John said, “Transportation’s fine. I have had to tell some of these freight brokers to PLEASE stop calling.”
Idaho/Oregon/California/Mexico/Texas/Spain:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID provided his report on August 21. “We’re shipping out of Idaho, Oregon, California, Mexico through Texas and we still have our Spain deal for our East Coast customers,” Rick said. “We have about two weeks on the California shipments and a few weeks of the Mexican whites through Texas and we have onions coming from Spain for customers on the East Coast,” Rick said. “More customers are making the switch to the Northwest, but for now Large onions are snug. If you want anything from a jumbo to a super, you should plan ahead.” Rick continued on demand. “Deman is pretty typical for this time of year, and buyers are taking a little of everything, but again, there are a lot of inquiries on the big stuff.” On the market, Rick said, “The market is stable, with a few deals out there on mediums and prepacks. The market for whites and reds remains strong.” On freight, Rick said, “Transportation remains easy. We’re using flatbeds and Conestoga’s, so that helps.” Rick also gave a familiar reminder, “Don’t forget, we have boilers, Cipollinis, and pearls, so come and get ‘em!”
New Mexico/Idaho-E. Oregon:
Joe Ange with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, gave Eagle Eye’s updates on August 21. “Harvest, Packing, and Shipping in ID/OR is in full swing for Eagle Eye Produce!” Joe said, “ We are still shipping out of New Mexico as well with excellent quality and are looking to wrap things up by the end of next week. We’re super thankful to our partners in New Mexico and as always they’ve performed very well to help us round out our year-round USA Grown onion program.” Joe continued, “Demand is good this week, we have all 3 colors and a broad range of sizing available. Large sizes (SCOL & COL) are the hardest to build volume on but we expect to see sizing improve as we continue with harvest over the next 4-5 weeks. Everyone (including us) seemed a little backed up on medium sizes last week, but we’ve been able to clean up and we’re in great shape this week.” And he said, “We’re not putting onions away into storage just yet and onions are drying down nicely before shipping. We’re seeing very nice quality and sizing coming into both our Nyssa and Payette facilities. Trucks in the Northwest and in New Mexico are getting a little tight as the industry transitions up to the NW.”
Vidalia, GA:
Danny Ray, with Ray Farms Inc. in Glennville, GA, told us on August 21 that his family’s business had a good season. “We were really happy with how this season went,” Danny said. “Pricing was good and we managed to make a little money this year. We had a dip in the market along the way, but it managed to rebound, and the average was good and that’s what matters.”
CROP
Colorado Western Slope:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, said on Aug. 21 his two Delta, CO, growing operations are getting ready for their early September harvest start. He said conditions had been good, and he noted, “I will be there next week, and we expect to start harvesting on Sept. 1.”
Colorado/Kansas:
Matt Murphy with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, provided his report on L&M’s Rocky Ford, CO, and Ulysses, KS on August 21. “We are very happy with how our Kansas and Colorado crops are coming along, “ Matt said. “We had great growing weather, and we didn’t experience any major weather events. The crops in these areas look to be the best we’ve seen in years. We’ll start Kansas on the 28th and get going with Rocky Ford on September 3rd—many thanks to Matt and Hayden Bingham for sending in the Kansas crop photos this week. Click images to enlarge and scroll.
