Featured image: Yellow onions, Jensen Farms Produce in Warden, Washington, courtesy of Matt Murphy with L&M Companies in Raleigh, NC
MARKET
Walla Walla:
Michael Locati with Locati Farms and Pacific Agra Farms said on July 28 he expects to finish harvest by the end of next week and will have sweets through August “if everything goes well.”
California:
Chris Woo with Owyhee Produce in Parma, ID, and Nyssa, OR, told us on July 28 that his company’s operation in Los Baños will “have reds and yellows for at least two more weeks in the city of baths, Los Baños. Sizes are large, production is plentiful and quality coming into the shed is mighty fine.”
Steve Baker with Baker & Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR, told us on July 28 his company’s Huron deal is staying steady. “Demand has been fair so far this week,” he said, adding that demand is “a little better on the smaller sized yellows than the larger sizes.” He noted the market “seems to be steady this week,” saying, “Not much has changed over the past few weeks.” Steve said, “Quality has been good and should continue to be good out of California as growers are switching into their long-day varieties.” Transportation, he said, “continues to be a challenge every week, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”
Robert Bell with Western Onion in Camarillo told us on July 28 he’s between harvests this week. “We finished Bakersfield and are waiting on Cuyama in late August,” he said. Robert told us he’s headed to NYC to visit customers of NZ imports and also visiting growers in Pine Island who use NZ seed from Western Onion.
California/New Mexico/Washington:
Matt Murphy with L&M Companies in Raleigh, NC, told us on July 28 that L&M has wrapped up in California, will be shipping out of New Mexico for another two weeks, and will be starting at the Jensen shed in Warden, WA, on Monday, Aug. 2. “We still have good volume and good quality of yellows and reds coming out of Billy the Kid’s operation in Deming,” he said. “Demand is a little off, but the market is steady, and we aren’t getting any push-back on pricing, so that’s good.” He continued, “We’ll start up with yellow direct-seeded onions out of Warden on Monday, adding reds two weeks after and whites after that. The onions look to be in good shape, and we are excited to get going there.” Many thanks to Matt for sending Jensen Farms Produce crop photos this week.
California/New Mexico:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, told us on June 28 that Eagle Eye is continuing to sell onions out of California and New Mexico. “We are selling all colors and sizes out of California and New Mexico,” he said. “There is big demand for jumbo and medium yellows and jumbo and medium reds right now. The market could be higher, but it’s steady and has been steady for the last several weeks.” He added, “We will be shipping from these locations until the second week in August.”
New Mexico:
James Johnson with Carzalia Valley Produce in Columbus told us on July 28, “Rains have been spotty across the region, and a few areas have been a lot wetter than others. We have been fairly lucky up until this week when we finally caught one that slowed us down a couple of days.” He went on to say temps have “been moderate for us.” On the labor front, James said it is “an increasing issue as the New Mexico chile harvest kicks off as well.” For the onions, he said, “Three solid dry weeks and most shippers will wrap it up out of New Mexico and Chihuahua.”
CROP
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Steve Baker with Baker & Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR, gave us an update on July 28, saying, “We plan on shipping Aug. 10th out of Ontario. We will start with yellows and follow up with a few whites and reds hopefully a few days later.” Steve went on to say, “The quality of the crop looks very good. Size and yields at this time look to be down from last year, and we will just have to see how the crop finishes out before we know for sure.”
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, reported on July 28 that Eagle Eye growers in Eastern Oregon will begin harvest on Friday, July 30. “We’ll start harvest on Friday and start shipping next Wednesday,” he said. “We’ll start out with yellows and reds and then add whites toward the end of August.” Jason added, “The crop looks good, and it’s starting to size up, too. The sizing is likely to start out on the smaller side, but within about a week, we should be getting into the larger sizes.” Check out this week’s story on Eagle Eye Produce’s Grower Spotlight for the company’s latest Treasure Valley crop photos.
Chris Woo with Owyhee Produce in Parma, ID, and Nyssa, OR, told us on July 28, “For our Idaho-E. Oregon onions, we will be cutting water on some of the earliest and will bring some into dry after that, so we should commence packing week of Aug. 12. We’re getting the crop ready – taking our time and not rushing — in order for them to finish sizing up and cured down to present a nice package for our wonderful customer base.”
Colorado Western Slope/Utah:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on July 28 that the crops in both states continue to do well, and Colorado is looking to start harvest Aug. 20-25.
Our thanks to David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Grower in McAllen, TX, for his July 20 photos of Brent and Regina Hines Farms in Delta, CO. Gorgeous onions set for harvest in August.
Colorado/Kansas:
Matt Murphy with L&M Companies in Raleigh, NC, reported on July 28 that L&M’s Colorado/Kansas program will start up August 23. “The onions are in good shape,” he said. “The crop was behind a bit, but it got back up with the recent heat, and everything is going to be good to go when we get going on Aug. 23.”
