The Market this week:
Mexico:
Don Ed Holmes at Onion House in Weslaco told OnionBusiness.com his company has been “super busy and in the thick of the Mexico deal.” Volumes have been very good the past week, and Don Ed said weather in the production areas has also been great. “We have had some new shippers come into the deal just in time,” he said, noting the arrival of new product. “We are at mid-season for our Mexican onions. Quality is outstanding, and movement is great. Pricing is stable, and it almost feels like it’s going to get better,” he said, adding, “We are eternal optimists in the onion business.”
Shawn Hartley of Utah Onions’ Dallas operation said his company is midway through the Mexican deal, and he said movement is good for onions coming across at McAllen, TX.
Utah:
Shawn Hartley of Utah Onions in Syracuse said the market has slowed recently, but Utah Onions is still shipping yellows, whites and reds. Demand has been “pretty good for medium yellows,” he said, and quality is good as well. The company will ship to late March or early April.
IEO:
Dan Phillips at Central Produce Distributing Co. in Payette, ID, said business has slowed, and Central Produce will finish out its 2015 shipping season the third week of March. “It’s been a good season,” Dan said. “We encountered some issues, but we got through them, and overall from beginning to end it was very good.”
Haun Packing in Weiser, ID, will also wrap up its 2015 onions in the next two weeks, according to Herb Haun. Herb said shippers with common storage are for the most part cleaning up during mid-to late March, and those with cold storage have good supplies that will taken them into May. In describing the 2015 shipping season, Herb said, “It’s been a good one. I can’t complain.”
WA:
Agri-Pack’s Trish Lovell said movement in the past week has been moderate, and prices have stayed steady. “We are expecting peak business near Easter,” she said, noting Agri-Pack will go through April with its current supplies. Whites are very tight, and she said the company has finished with its reds.
NV:
Peri and Sons in Yerington, NV, has three weeks’ worth of onions remaining for the 2015 shipping season, and Jessica Peri said the operation sources out of Texas and Mexico as it gears up for the El Centro onions to begin shipping out of the Imperial Valley in late April and early May. The operation, which recently received SCS Global Services Sustainably Grown certification for its California and Nevada facilities, is adding storage in Nevada and upgrading packing equipment in Firebaugh, CA.
Crop updates this week:
Rio Grande Valley, TX:
The Rio Grande Valley received some “much needed rain” on March 9, Don Ed Holmes of Onion House told OnionBusiness.com. “It’s been pretty dry, and the rain helped. Irrigation water from the river can be a little salty, and the rain was good for the crop in the ground.” Pea-size hail was reported in the McAllen area, but Don Ed said it was scattered and not severe, and he added his onions are on track to start the week of March 28.
Shawn Hartley of Southwest Onions Growers/Utah Onions in McAllen said that company will start shipping its Rio Grande Valley onions mid-March, leading off with sweets.
IEO:
Herb Haun at Haun Packing in Weiser, ID, said planting of the 2016 crop has begun. “We’re in the fields already,” he said on March 9, noting it’s a slightly early start. “We’re normally in between March 10-14, so we’re really just a day or so ahead.”
Dan Phillips at Central Produce Distributing in Payette, ID, said one of the company’s growers to the south of Payette had begun planting, and other farmers will be planting “possibly by the end of the month and into April.” He said, “The weather has been teasing these guys, and farmers can’t stand to be idle.”
WA:
Trish Lovell at Agri-Pack in Pasco, WA, said growers have begun planting new crop onions, and she anticipates shipping to start the third week of July, weather cooperating.
CA:
Peri and Sons first onions from California will start out of El Centro in the Imperial Valley in late April, with yellows leading the way and reds and whites starting up in early May. She said the crop looks good, and Jessica added that organic reds and yellows will start shipping at around the same time as their conventional counterparts.
Weather Links
OnionBusiness.com has compiled a list of links for up-to-date weather forecasts for onion-growing regions across the United States. We’ll add to this list frequently.
Imperial Valley CA weather reports are available at http://kyma.com/weather/ KYMA Channels 11, 13 and 5 Yuma, AZ
Central Valley CA weather reports are available at http://kmph-kfre.com/weather Fox 27 KMPH
Eastern WA weather reports are available at http://keprtv.com/weather KEPR Channel 19 Tri Cities
IEO weather reports are available at http://weather.ktvb.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?brand=ktvb&target=ktvb&query=Ontario,OR Channel 7 Boise
Utah weather reports are available at http://kutv.com/weather KUTV Channel 2 Salt Lake City
Western Colorado reports available at http://www.kjct8.com/weather KJCT Channel 8 Grand Junction.
Front Range Colorado reports available at http://www.9news.com/weather KUSA Channel 9 Denver
Arkansas Valley Colorado weather reports available at http://www.koaa.com/weather KOAA Channel 5 Colorado Springs/Pueblo
Rio Grande Valley weather reports available at http://valleycentral.com/weather/ KGBT Channel 4 in Harlingen.
Southern New Mexico weather reports available at http://www.kvia.com/weather posted by KVIA Channel 4 in Las Cruces
Vidalia weather reports available at http://www.41nbc.com/weather/radar/ WMGT Channel 41 Macon.
