In the grand scheme of things, Texas product represents a tiny fraction of the onions marketed by Bland Farms LLC, Glennville, Ga.
The beginning of the Texas harvest overlaps with the end of the season in Tampico, Mexico, and the end of the Texas harvest overlaps with the beginning of the season closer to home in Georgia.
“It’s a very small window,” said Troy Bland, director of procurement and quality control for Bland, which markets itself as the world’s largest year-round grower, packer and shipper of sweet onions.
Bland Farms markets nearly one-third of Vidalia onions, shipping fresh product from April through June followed by storage supplies from that region.
“We’re most interested in the early part of the Texas deal,” Bland said.
Bland said the company, which ships from Mexico in February and March, received its last container of onions from Peru the week of Feb. 18.
Troy Bland said the company expects to start harvesting in Texas around March 10.
“I was down there last week, and the Texas crop looks really good,” Bland said Feb. 22.
“We’re starting new grower relationships in the valley. We’re always trying to find the best suppliers to work with, and we’re very encouraged by the new growers we have this year,” he said.
Bland declined to name the company’s new grower partners in Texas, but he said its acreage and volume should be in line with what Bland Farms has sourced from that state in the past.
“We’re very excited about the Texas deal,” Bland said. “We’ll have a good crop, and the market is holding strong.”
Bland Farms also ships sweet onions from Utah, California and New York.
“We’re trying to give our customers as many options as we can for fresh-crop onions and good quality year-round,” Troy Bland said.
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