Featured image: Baker & Murakami Produce Co. early yellow onions, courtesy of Grant Kitamura
MARKET
California Five Points
Mike Smythe with Telesis Onion in Five Points reported on July 30 that the company Telesis Onion will start packing their long day onions on July 30th. “We will have a good mix of yellows, reds, whites and organics through the week of August 10,” Mike said. “We will continue packing consumer bags through the end of August and will push hard to finish earlier than last season.”
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Chris Woo with Owyhee Produce in Parma, ID, and Nyssa, OR, told us on July 29, “We’re packing new crop early yellows and reds this week. Will have whites next week.” He continued, “We got done with California last week and we transitioned our fine customer base back to Parma with no interruption in service and availability. Demand is good and pricing is decent for both grower returns and customer usage.” And, Chris said, “Like a lot of other suppliers, we our continuing to support the USDA box program as well as taking care of our premier distributor list.” About the onions, Chris was happy to report, “Weather has been hot and dry, and the crop is being taken care of in a normal way. Our onion growing season was on time with adequate moisture, and the crop is bulbing nicely – and everything looks awfully nice.” He said, “A few more waterings and then onion crop will be finished out for the season with very few hiccups. This years’ crop is the best I’ve ever seen since I’ve been working the dealio.”
Herb Haun with Haun Packing in Weiser, ID, told us on July 29, “We’re bringing onions in now, and we’ll start packing on Monday.” The crop, he said, “looks good, and now all it needs is a few days of nice, hot weather and it should be well cured and ready to go.” Initially the shed will run yellows, with reds and whites added later in the week. “The onions are sizing mostly jumbos, and our first loads are going to a local processor. Then it will be a little bit everywhere. From here on out, we don’t stop until we’re done, probably sometime in March.”
Grant Kitamura with Baker & Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR, told us on July 29 that the company’s growers are currently harvesting green top onions. “We have all three colors and sizes drying in bins now,” Grant said. “We will start packing on Aug. 3, and by the middle of the week we will be packing all colors and sizes.” He added, “The quality looks very good, and this is one of the earliest starts we’ve had in several years. That’s due to the ideal planting weather we had this spring and good growing conditions throughout the summer.”
Idaho
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum told us July 29 that onions are moving well this week. “It’s that time of year when we are pulling onions from a wide variety of areas,” he said. “We’re moving onions out of Parma, ID, Hermiston, OR, and Los Baños, Stockton and Lancaster, CA, as well as Nogales, AZ.” Also, he said, “We are moving onions out of New Mexico, but they received some rain, so it slowed them down a few days. I haven’t heard about any damage due to the rain, but it just slowed up their production this week.” Rick went on to say, “You know, I have never moved Mexican onions this late in the summer, but in the last two weeks, I’ve moved multiple loads from there. I understand northern Mexico received quite a bit of rain too, but I don’t have any other information on that area.” He said demand for yellows and reds is good. “The white availability is so tight right now, but it looks like new crop whites will be more readily available next week,” Rick said. “The market is stable right now, and pricing isn’t bad. Sure, there might be a deal or two out there for summer onion areas looking to finish, but that’s not the norm, and the market appears to be holding.” Rick added, “Freight’s still extremely high, but the good news is that foodservice guys are starting to talk out there so things could be continuing to perk up. But we sure don’t need any more lockdowns. We need to get this whole country going full-steam again.”
CROP
Colorado Western Slope:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said he spoke with his Colorado grower, John Harold, last week, and the crop is progressing right on schedule. He said, “Plans to start are still for last week in August.”
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in Mission, TX, said on July 29 his Western Slope growers are also reporting a normal growing season and start, perhaps a week early. “Expect all three colors no later than Sept. 5. Maturity and sizing all normal. Temps have moderated seasonally
