Featured image: Walla Walla, WA crop harvest, photo courtesy of Michael Locati with Locati Farms and Pacific Agra Farms
MARKET
Five Points, CA:
Mike Smythe reported in for Telesis Onion on June 12: “Telesis Onion has been packing since May 31st,” Mike said. “Last week was pretty rough on the marketing part; this week, business is back to normal, and the market seems to be moving up. Demand is very good on reds and yellows; one has to hustle. The crop at Telesis is of good quality and has all sizes available.” Mike continued, “We had some heat advisories last week, which cut hours on shipping, but other than that, we are off to a good start. The plan is to move the crop quickly; we hope to be done by mid-August.”
Bakersfield, CA
Megan Jacobsen with Gills Onions in Oxnard sent us a gorgeous harvest photo from Rio Farms on June 12. “Bakersfield harvest has started for Rio Farms.” Megan added. “This photo is sent courtesy of Gills Onions safety team.”
Walla Walla:
Michael Locati with Locati Farms and Pacific Agra Farms sent us some great photos on June 12. He said, “Second day of harvest. They are big and beautiful this year. Quality is some of the best I have seen for the first couple days of harvest. Blessed with a good growing season. Get them before the heat!” Many thanks to Michael for providing this week’s featured image and additional photos. Click image to enlarge.
Imperial Valley, CA/Washington:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms in Salem, OR, told us on June 12, saying, “Demand has been, well, let’s say, interesting this week,” John said, “It’s picked up quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, but there are a lot of onions out there. We are shipping out of California and New Mexico. For us, Imperial Valley will be pretty much done, and we have new crop coming out of Five Points, but there are a lot of areas in California starting to ship, and New Mexico is in full production as well. Mexico has steadily been shipping and, frankly, ruining the market, but it seems to be slowing down, and that should continue. The onion quality coming out of Five Points looks great, and it doesn’t look like we’ll have scorching weather. It looks like yields there are strong and even better than expected.” On the market, John said, “Even with the higher number of onions out there, the market seems to be stabilizing somewhat. The money is always good on reds because there haven’t been many out there, but we will be getting more. Any dips are typical and generally not a big concern. We do have Juneteenth and the Fourth of July for possible pulls, but typically, the market comes off a little and bounces back. Then, later in the summer and when the Northwest gets going and it gets another shot in the arm to increase again.” John added, “Sometimes, there is talk about growers holding on to onions for more money and buyers holding off to get a better price. I say, we need to sell the onions we have in front of us, and buyers need not wait; buy what you need. Everything goes much smoother that way.” John will be traveling to the NOA Summer Convention in Alaska next week and is looking forward to meeting and networking with growers and industry friends.
New Mexico/California:
Joe Ange with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, provided us with Eagle’s updates on June 12. “We have adequate supplies of Yellow, Red, and White onions are available in New Mexico and California,” Joe said, “ In New Mexico, temperatures are heating up but we’re on top of harvest and will be shifting into intermediates within the next week. Quality is very nice on these summer onions with sizing peaking on Jumbos and larger. Medium Yellow Onions are tight and seem to be the most in demand this week and we’re finding Medium Yellow pricing actually higher than Jumbos.” Joe continued, “California supplies and quality are also good, we do have better supply of Medium Yellow in California and reds are increasing in all regions.” On the market, Joe said, “Markets are steady to slightly weaker as Mexican production is in full swing and imports into the US are more than the domestic market needs. Last week we saw that Mexican imports were higher than domestic production which is unfortunately putting downward pressure on our markets here in the US. Eagle Eye’s onions are 100% USA Grown and available year-round.”
California/Mexico/Texas:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID, provided his report on June 12. “Demand is good this week,” Rick said. “We are shipping onions out of California, Arizona, and Mexican onions coming up through New Mexico and Texas. We have #1’s and #2’s available in all sizes and colors, but smaller onions are tight, and the new stuff is definitely on the large side right now.” Rick continued, “If you can find small onions, you better not hesitate; just get on it. They probably won’t be there is you wait too long.” On the market, Rick said, “The market is good on reds. Otherwise, this week, it seems to be all over the place. Some of it may be due to quality, but these are summer onions, and I have said this many times: summer onions cannot be different than storage onions. If they don’t have tons of tight skin. We need to remember that. on reds and is steady as she goes on yellows, and man, it is all over the board on whites. We hope to have more red availability when New Mexico comes on, but we’ll see.”
CROP
Northwest
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms in Salem, OR, told us on June 12, saying, “We are expecting overwinters to start going around the second week in July, and seeded crops to be shipping mid-August,” John said, “We are hearing the crops are looking good with good growing weather in the forecast.”
