Strong Texas onion crop expected

Barring unforeseen weather events, Texas spring onion season should be underway by mid-March with plenty of good-quality product.

Harvest was expected to start about 10 days later than usual for Weslaco, Texas-based The Onion House, said Don Ed Holmes, sales manager.

The company should have good volume from Mexico, which was set to start in late February, as well as Texas, he said. Supplies should be plentiful for March, April and most of May.

Holmes attributed the late start to cool, windy weather and some rain. Onions need consistent warm or moderately warm days as well as warmer nights than they’ve been having.

“These night temperatures have been down to the 50s and 60s, and the onions don’t like that,” Holmes said. “They have a tendency not to grow.”

The Onion House offers 1015-type sweet yellow, white and red onions.

An Arctic freeze hit in mid-January after the region experienced mild temperatures from October through December, said Jeff Brechler, salesman for Little Bear Produce, Edinburg, Texas.

Weather warmed up again after the January cold spell, he said.

Indications in mid-February were that quality would be good, and volume at Little Bear Produce would be similar to last year, even though acreage industrywide appears to be down, Brechler said.

“I think it should be a strong market through the Texas deal going into the Vidalia deal,” he said.

McAllen, Texas-based Val Verde Vegetable Co. expects to start its south Texas onion program around April and continue through mid-May, which is fairly typical timing, said Jeff Holton, sales manager.

The company, which recently doubled the size of its packing facility to more than 200,000 square feet, will ship yellow and red onions this spring.

Growing conditions were a challenge this year, Holton said.

“First, we had the summer that wouldn’t die,” he said. “In January we caught the freeze, and [the week of Feb. 19] we had 5 inches of rain.”

Nonetheless, quality was looking “really good” in late February, he said, though he added, “that could change overnight.”

The company’s acreage will be off a little this year, since growers to the east have been put on water allocations, Holton said.

“Water is becoming a hot topic in the Rio Grande Valley,” he said.

Val Verde Vegetable’s organic acreage will be up a bit this year.

“We do reds and yellows and have a couple of varieties that have performed phenomenally,” Holton said.

Conditions also were looking good for organic onions at South Tex Organics, Mission, Texas, said Russon Holbrook, vice president.

“They look really good,” he said. “Stands are strong and onions are growing.”

The company aimed to start harvesting organic onions March 11, which is early for South Tex Organics.

Starting this year, in response to customer requests, the firm will offer 2-pound bags of red or yellow organic onions in addition to 3-pound bags and 40-pound cartons, he said.

The company, which also ships organic oranges and grapefruit, will offer organic onions from March into May.

The fresh onions South Tex Organics grows are available during a shorter window than storage onions, Holbrook said, “but when we have them, they’re good.”

Inflation impact lingers

Texas onion growers say they’re still dealing with inflation.

“The prices every year seem to be going up 8% to 10%,” Holmes said. “We’re paying more for pretty well everything.”

“Inflation is terrible,” Holbrook added.

Costs have gone up for utilities, fuel, transportation and general operating expenses, he said.

Fortunately, consumers continue to purchase onions.

With high inflation, it’s been a challenge to keep produce moving, Holton said.

“Consumers are really watching what they are spending money on — especially perishables,” he said. “Impulse buying is not what it used to be.”

Brechler said more grower-shippers are relying on programs with their customers rather than selling on the spot market.

“It’s too expensive to be a speculation farmer,” he said.