Featured image: “First day of storage harvest”, courtesy of Dwayne Fisher with Champion Produce in Parma, Idaho
MARKET
Washington/Kansas/Colorado:
Matt Murphy with L&M Cos in Raleigh, NC, reported on L&M’s shipping areas this week that includes Warden, WA, Ulysses, KS, and Rocky Ford, CO. On Sept. 25, Matt said, “Demand isn’t huge but it’s steady for this time of year. We are happy that given the demand, the market is stable and prices are holding.” Matt also reported on each area individually. “Harvest in Washington has been delayed a little due to rain in Washington, but things overall are going well,” he said. “The size profile started out on the smaller side on the early onions, but as we get further into harvest, we will be getting into larger sized onions. Quality is good there. On our Kansas program, the onions are the best we’ve seen in the seven years we’ve been growing there.” He continued, “This year, we have a small program in Rocky Ford, Co. This is the first time we’re shipping out of the Rocky Ford area in several years. We have some really nice whites coming out of that area, along with good quality yellows and a small number of reds.” Matt added that transportation hasn’t been a problem. “Transportation has been good for us,” he said. “The weather has been good for flatbeds this season, but we will start transitioning to reefers soon. Usually, we like to start using all reefers about the first part of October.”
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Dwayne Fisher with Champion Produce Sales in Parma, ID, told us on Sept. 25, “I am looking online for the report to file a ‘bully complaint’ against Mother Nature, but so far can’t seem to find one. My wife and kids would be great witnesses that rain during harvest makes this dad hard to live with. That being said, the last few days have been beautiful!” Dwayne continued, “Yesterday was our first official day of going into storage with onions. Today the sun is shining, forecast looks good for the next few days, and it is full steam ahead.” Dwayne also looked at labor, saying, “If you don’t think the job market is good for those seeking employment, try to find crews for storage! People are tight, and we will be limiting packing production this next few weeks to focus on storage production. I think most facilities will be in the same boat, so I would think product the next few weeks will be tight, keeping the market very stable and even strengthen.” And, he said, “This weekend has us all sweating a bit as a chance of rain is forecast for three days. At last report, before Sunday’s rain, I believe the weather report showed we were 1/2 inch above normal September rain fall. Needless to say, no rain for a few weeks to let us get this crop in would be great!” Dwayne also said, “On top of the chance of rain we are also going to experience a 20-degree plus high temp DROP, which doesn’t help the curing process any. I guess the point is we are ready and rolling, less some workers, but Mother Nature just needs to read my complaint and back off for a few weeks!” On the market side, he said, “Things are very steady and positive. Looking forward, I think everyone should be very optimistic that our farms and growers should be able to have a decent year as far as their returns go.”
Steve Baker with Baker & Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR, said on Sept. 25, “Demand is just fair this week. I’m a little surprised there isn’t more demand because of weather issues we had this past week that slowed harvest down.” He noted that demand also “seems fairly steady across the board on all sizes.” As of midweek, the market has been steady, Steve said, and he said, “We have good availability on yellows. The first of the week, we were a little tight on whites and reds. We are bringing in more reds starting today. Quality has been good.” Looking at storage, Steve said, “We are just getting started today on some of our permanent storage onions. We have a long way to go and will be putting in long hours to get this crop in.”
Northern Colorado:
John Harris with Paradigm Fresh in Fort Morgan said on Sept. 23, “It’s been a slow month and this is a week of twos.” He continued, “I am not expecting a very busy week, but there are some outside factors that may put a little pressure on this deal. There has been a fair amount of rain in Idaho-Oregon, and it has put some pressure on an otherwise plentiful onion crop in the Northwest. The forecast is dry the remainder of the week, but it gets pretty cool up there next week. This will undoubtedly limit their harvesting ability to some degree next week.” John added, “We don’t have anything to worry about too much at this point, but it is something to keep an eye on. With supplies somewhat limited in the IEO area, look for prices to be perhaps a little firmer in Washington this week. I would even expect jumbo yellows to possibly become somewhat tight.” On his home turf, John said, “We have a little of everything here in Colorado this week as well as a bit of pack time if you need any consumers.”
Colorado Western Slope/Utah:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us Sept. 25 that John Harold in Olathe, CO, has onions clipped and will start shipping next Monday or Tuesday. The season will start with yellows, and Don Ed said whites and reds will be shipping by the end of the week. In Corinne, UT, crews had started storing on Sept. 25.
Broker’s Perspective:
Jason Vee with Vee’s Marketing in Superior, WI, weighed in on Sept. 25, saying, “I’m fully aware that probably no one looks forward to the broker perspective when it’s slow. We are deadly slow. We have the Steady Eddy business, but there is nothing extra. No urgency. No deal shoppers. When we’ve exhausted outreach, we resort to the internet for entertainment.” He continued, “I have watched every YouTube Jiu-jitsu video. Angie likes trolling @BetteMidler on Twitter. I’m looking forward to deer hunting in Oklahoma next week to get away from my desk for a few days. There was a blip of activity with the rain that hit Idaho and Eastern Oregon. The forecast looks clear of that for the next week.” Jason added, “It’s a harvest market. I think this onion market has a chance to firm up, but it’s not right now. When everything is in storage and the Fall ads start, we may see some increases. For now, I have some spot deals on medium yellows in Washington. We are shipping a few Peruvian sweet onions out of Philly that have been received well. Same goes with Heavenly Sweets out of Washington. Those are a good mover.”
He concluded, “It’s not time to get crazy. Market changes won’t affect demand right now. So, we lay low, take some days off, and make the most of the slow times. Even if it’s at Bette Midler’s expense.”
