It looks like Idaho and East Oregon onion acreage will continue its upward trend in 2025.
Growers in the Snake River Valley, which runs through southwest Idaho and Malheur County in Oregon, planted 23,592 acres of onions in 2025, up from 22,583 acres in 2024, according to the National Onion Association. Annual production averages about 20 million 50-pound units, depending on weather and other conditions, says Greg Yielding, the association’s executive vice president.
Eagle Eye Produce
Onion harvest started the week of Aug. 4 in Idaho, Oregon and Washington for Iona, Idaho-based Eagle Eye Produce, says Joe Ange, director of onion sales.
“It’s a little earlier than usual thanks to near-ideal growing conditions,” he says. Harvest should continue into early October.
The company, which has a year-round onion program, will offer a complete line of red, yellow and white onions as well as sweet yellow onions in its Harvest Time label this season. Ange says acreage at Eagle Eye Produce is up slightly this year thanks to the acquisition of the Baker and Murakami warehouse in Ontario, Ore., and quality should be strong.
“Our growing teams are happy with what they are seeing,” he says.
Snake River Produce
At Nyssa, Ore.-based Snake River Produce, Kyle Erstrom, general manager, says he expects to have a very nice crop this year.
“Everything seems to be on schedule,” Erstrom explains. “We’re excited to get the season going.”
The company ships mainly yellow Spanish sweet onions and also has some red and white varieties.
The season is expected to get underway shortly after mid-August, and the company will ship storage onions as late as mid-April, Erstrom says.
Planted acreage is similar to last year at Snake River Produce, and growing conditions have been good this season with fairly mild weather and plenty of water, Erstrom says, adding that quality seems to be top notch.
Owyhee Produce
Parma, Idaho-based Owyhee Produce started harvesting onions July 1 and plans to keep onions coming from Idaho year-round, says Bailey Myers, agritourism and marketing director at the company, which grows, ships, packs and processes potatoes.
Owyhee Produce offers red, yellow and white potatoes and has a sweet red variety.
“Quality is looking good coming out of the fields now and going into storage and hitting the roads,” says Myers, who adds volume will be up slightly this year.
ICE Effect
President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals and immigration crackdowns are on the minds of onion shippers but don’t seem to have caused much of an impact yet.
Eagle Eye Produce had not experienced any labor disruptions as of early August, Ange says.
“We work with a consistent and reliable labor force that returns year after year,”
he adds.
The company would like to see a reliable, legal labor program that benefits migrant workers, growers and the country.
“A stable workforce keeps the food supply moving and helps make sure fresh produce stays affordable and available for everyone,” he says.
Owyhee Produce also would like to see a workable program with steps to enable migrants to have a process to either citizenship or a program for working legally, Myers says.
Snake River Produce is definitely worried about the potential for visits from ICE, Erstrom says.
“Whether they stop here or not, if they’re in the area, people are going to quit coming to work,” he says. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but we don’t have complete control over it.”
Tariff Talk
Tariffs have already had some effect on the cost of supplies such as packaging and fertilizer, Ange says.
“We have made some adjustments by working with more domestic suppliers or sourcing from places that are not impacted,” he says.
Eagle Eye Produce understands the intention behind Trump’s tariff policies and supports fair trade policies that benefit the U.S., he says.
“At the same time, tariffs can create uncertainty in the produce industry, where pricing and margins are already tight and logistics are already challenging.” Ange says. “Even small changes in input costs can have a big impact.”
Myers hopes any tariffs will be a good thing in the long run.
“The tariffs will have challenges for all companies, but we are hoping long term it will be helpful to the U.S. growers and companies,” she says.
