Featured image: red onion crop progress, photos courtesy of Ryan Bennett with Northwest Onion Co. in Brooks, OR
MARKET
California Five Points:
Mike Smythe with Big Country Sales Inc. said on Aug. 3 that Telesis Onion Co. is starting its long day yellows on Monday, Aug. 8, and will pack until mid-August. “We will have all three colors until the end,” he said. “It’s been a good season. We pushed hard to get max loads through the shed in July.” Mike added, “We have good demand coming from Mexico and other export opportunities. We look forward to wrapping up the season early this year and wish all shippers in all growing areas best of luck this season.”
New Mexico/California/Washington:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, told us on Aug. 3 that demand is a little off this week. “It appears to be the ‘terrible twos’ hitting us,” he said. “Demand is a little off this week and was a bit off last week too. Don’t get me wrong – we still have plenty of action, but it’s just not super heavy demand.” Jason continued, “We are shipping out of New Mexico, California, and Washington. All areas are shipping great quality, and there are plenty of yellows and reds available in all sizes. There are no whites anywhere to be had. We are shipping direct-seeded yellows and overwinter reds out of Washington. It looks like we’ll be shipping the California crop through Aug. 15-20, so we expect a smooth transition to the Northwest.” On the market, Jason said it’s come off a bit. “It’s nothing significant, but the market has dipped slightly. Buyers are looking to see how everything is going to shake out in the next couple of weeks, so some might be holding off on buying to see where the market settles in, but the slight dip is nothing significant.” On freight, Jason said it’s been fairly easy to get trucks.
CROP
Western Oregon:
Ryan Bennett with Northwest Onion Co. in Brooks, OR, said on Aug. 3, “All good here in western Oregon. From how hard we were beat up in the spring with record rainfall, I would have to say our area has some really nice-looking fields. Onions are bulbing nicely with sizing profile a little sporadic, but I bet they even out in the end.” Ryan also said, “Thankfully insect and disease pressure has been kept in check so far. Harvest will be close to a ‘normal’ schedule, digging around the end of August first part of September. Maybe a little behind.” He added, “Just went through a stretch of heat in our area, but nothing damaging that we can see. Praying we finish strong!” Many thanks to Ryan for sending recent photos of the Northwest Onion red crop progress.
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Joshua Frederick with Snake River Produce in Nyssa, OR, gave us a comprehensive update on Aug. 3. “Things are definitely drying up around the valley from the effects of 100-degree days with no relief in sight for the next two weeks or longer,” he said. He said how the crop is looking overall “depends what fields have been able to continue to grow and not just lay over and die. We have some fields that looks outstanding and should produce 900 to 1,000 sack cwt per acre, and then right across the road our next field may look to pack out 500 to 600 sack cwt per acre roughly to the acre.” Josh continued, “Yields are just off, no question about it, which in return should make for a decent market due to supply and demand.” And, he added, “Drip tape fields obviously have the advantage this time of year compared to furrow irrigation as the water is pushing down to the root of the bulb, helping that onion continue to grow and produce in size. Big onions are needed for most of our customer base at SRP. With early spring conditions and a late start this year’s crop just isn’t sizing up to meet all the demands for our industry. We predict having a range of heavy mediums through colossal for our size profile.” Joshua concluded, “We will start topping our reds around Aug. 20, follow suit with our yellows and close out with the whites. We will begin packing for the season after Labor Day.”
Chris Woo provided an update on Aug 3, saying, “Weather here has been hot and dry. There are a few earlies getting knifed for immediate production, but the bulk of the crop is still growing nicely with adequate moisture and good top foliage to shade the emerging bulbs.” Chris sent photos of Treasure Valley fields, including some farmed by Owyhee Produce with a shot of Madison Froerer in the mix. He said earlies will start in two weeks. Our thanks to Chris for his great phone camera skills.
Tiffany Cruickshank with Onions 52 gave us an update on the Treasure Valley crop this week and also sent us some wonderful photos from the Malheur County Fair of onions grown by Future Farmers of America. She said, “The Treasure Valley crop still appears to be about two weeks behind what we would consider normal. The recent heat wave will likely have an impact on the crop, though we will not know what that is for some time.” And Tiffany said, “Our partner sheds will likely start packing towards the end of August or beginning of September, depending on when the crop is ready for harvesting.” She added “Happening this week in the Treasure Valley is the Malheur County Fair, where you can get a first-hand glimpse of local onions on display in the Red Barn.” Our thanks for this look at American farming life at its finest – another generation of onion growers!”
Colorado Western Slope:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, said his Western Slope deal in Delta is coming along on schedule for a Labor Day start. “We took out a very small acreage that didn’t come back from the high winds earlier in the season,” he said, noting that overall volume should not be impacted. And he said the program remains steady, with yellows making up about 80 percent of the crop, reds 15 percent and whites 5 percent.
SE Colorado:
Zach Mason with Zach Mason Farms in Fowler told us on Aug. 3 that his Lower Ark Valley crop “looks excellent, and we’re guesstimating starting grading Aug. 22.”
Rio Grande Valley:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen told us on Aug. 3 water rationing has already begun in the RGV. He also said he expects acreage to be up both in the Valley and in Mexico coming off very good seasons in both regions.
