Featured image: Hartley Produce Washington onion harvest, photo courtesy of Tiffany Cruickshank with Onions 52
MARKET
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Dan Phillips with Central Produce/Eagle Eye reported in from his Payette, ID, sales office this week. “Demand this week is not what it has been for the last couple of weeks,” he said. “All colors and sizes are moving, just not at the same pace.” But, he added, “Despite the decrease in demand, the market remains steady.” On quality, Dan said it is excellent. “Packouts have been very good,” he said. “We haven’t been making many No. 2s, that’s for sure. The quality has been stellar.” When asked about storing, Dan said, “We’re really not there yet.” He noted transportation is still high-priced. “We are still getting the trucks, but rates are still high. Now that the railroad has things ironed out, our plan is to move forward with our regular rail shipments and hope it all works out, but we haven’t started any rail shipments yet.”
Ken Stewart with Asumendi Produce in Wilder, ID, told us on Sept. 21 that demand has slipped this week. “We’re seeing a slight dip in demand and also in the market,” he said. “We don’t really think this is an issue moving forward because we don’t anticipate there being an oversupply of onions in the valley this year. And we’re optimistic that pricing will hold at a good level,” he said. “Our yields are down. It’s not the train wreck the valley had on last year’s yields, but the weather in August and September was not what we hoped for, so yields are below average.” Ken went on to say that the quality of the crop is very good. And he noted that Asumendi is splitting labor between harvest and production. “Due to labor issues, we split our crews between the shed and harvest. We aren’t running full steam right now, so we have limited supplies.” He added, “We are packing what our customers need, so it’s working out fine.”
Dwayne Fisher with Champion Produce Sales in Parma, ID, told us on Sept. 21, “Load ‘em up and get ‘em in! Storage season is in full swing, and quality looks fantastic for our farms and growers.” He continued, “We have invested big and made sure no corners were cut, even with record expenses, and our quality proves it was the right move. With as many curve balls as Mother Nature threw at us this year, we knew there were no grand slams in the future, but we didn’t strike out either.” Dwayne said, “In terms of market and demand, daily shipment numbers well in the 400s show great movement.” And he emphasized, “We certainly reaffirm our commitment to being 100 percent American soils, 365 days! American farmers staying fiscally healthy should always be our priority on the marketing desks. Solvency this year is incredibly important for the future of our onion industry for American growers.” Dwayne went on to say, “At this point in terms of price, it settles where we let it settle. Supply is more than in check, and demand is normal, so it’s just about what we are willing to do, or how bullish we feel we should be moving forward. For our farms and growers, we are riding the bull!”
Chris Woo reported to us on Sept. 21, saying, “Fall harvest is in full swing. Weather has been dry, temperatures during the day have been not as warm as before and nights have been cooler. The Indian summer we’ve been having is drying down the crop as it should be and putting a nice final cure on the onion bulbs for a nice appearance.” He added, “Sheds are packing for sure orders, then shutting off early and taking the production crew to help out with the outside storage and harvest process.” Chris said that pricing “is more than decent this time of year and it goes along with promoting and marketing of our fine crop to our wonderful customer base.” And, he said, “We’re also picking up a few additional orders already for Mexico as well as Australia.”
Idaho/Washington/Oregon/Utah/Kansas/Colorado/North Dakota:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID, told us on Sept. 21 that he is moving onions out of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Kansas, Colorado, and North Dakota now. “Honestly, demand is light this week,” he said. “Contract business seems to be steady, but open market business is random.” He continued, “I think it has something to do with the fluctuation in the market and buyers trying to take a wait-and-see attitude. Now, that flux in price could very well be based on quality. Basically, if you insist on buying cheap, you better know what you’re buying. Of the demand we do have this week, buyers are looking for the big stuff – jumbos, colossals and supers.” On transportation, Rick said it’s been good this week. “Freight has been easy. We have plenty of trucks ready to go, but I don’t see that lasting. In the next ten days to two weeks, trucks are most likely going to tighten up.” He added, “Oh and I do want to mention we have new crop of pearls and Cipollinis, so come and get ‘em!”
Colorado Western Slope/Utah:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on Sept. 21 the Western Colorado deal continues to be good, and he added that Utah will start in mid-October. “All is good in Colorado,” he said. “It’s a little slower this week but still good.” All three colors and a good range of sizes are shipping from his Olathe operation, and he said the Corinne, UT, deal is looking at a “nice crop.”
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, said his Delta operation is about halfway through the fresh crop portion of the deal, and the growers will start putting onions into storage after this coming weekend and the expected wet weather. “By Monday or Tuesday the weather is going to get cooler and drier,” he said. David noted the fresh crop yields have been “normal or a little above,” and he said quality is “really, really good.” He continued, “We’re in full speed and volume right now with all three colors. Demand is good, and our sizes are 18 percent mediums and 82 percent jumbos and colossals in all three colors, too.” Transportation has not been an issue so far, he said. “We’ll run our fresh crop until Oct. 5-10,” David said. “We try to run our storage until mid-December.”
Washington/Utah:
Tiffany Cruickshank with Onions 52 told us on Sept. 21 the Washington harvest is moving along well. “Our Washington harvest is going smoothly, and with good weather we anticipate finishing up within the next two weeks,” she said. Utah has seen some delays, she said. “Our growers have been experiencing rainstorms in Utah, which have delayed harvest about 10 days. Overall we are positive about the crop and are looking forward to a quality storage season.” And Tiffany added, “Be sure to visit the Onions 52 team at SEPC Southern Innovations Booth #604 Sept. 22-24 in Nashville!” Our thanks to Tiff for the great photos of organic yellows, Shawn and Taryn Hartley of Hartley Produce with Washington storage onions and a Washington field during harvest, which is our featured image this week!
CROP
Rio Grande Valley/Tampico, Mexico:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, told us on Sept. 21 his operation hadn’t started planting yet in the Rio Grande Valley. “It’s been really warm this week, and the ground is really moist,” he said. “We’ve been getting a lot of water into the watershed.” David said the area had gone from May 20 to Aug. 25 with no precipitation – “not a measurable drop” – but since Aug. 25 it has rained 10 inches. “It’s rained almost every week,” he said. When asked what he expects in acreage for the RGV’s 2023 crop, he said, “It depends on the irrigation districts.” Some of the districts had imposed restrictions during the protracted dry spell, but David said some of those restrictions could be eased after the recent rain. In the Tampico, Mexico, district, he said, growers are 90-95 percent planted now. “I don’t have a feel at all for what the acreage is there, but I tell people it could be plus or minus 10 percent of last year.”
