Texas onion growers were looking for a strong, productive year as the 2025 harvest approached.
The harvest already is underway for some growers in Texas, said Jed Murray, director of government relations for the Mission-based Texas International Produce Association. Others are expected to start clipping onions by mid-March.
Yields and volume should be similar to last year, he said, and growing conditions appeared to “relatively stable” with no major pest or disease issues reported.
“Early reports suggest that onion size is improving daily, with expectations that sizing and quality will be on par with last year,” Murray said in late February.
Yellow, sweet and red onions are the most popular kinds shipped by Little Bear Produce, Edinburg, Texas, said salesman Jeff Brechler. The company specializes in sweet onions.
Harvesting got underway in mid-February, and the main harvest kicked in about a week later and will continue until mid-April.
Growing conditions were “kind of up and down,” this season, he said.
November and December were dry and warm, and January had its typical overcast conditions until a cold snap swooped in. The weather warmed up for about two weeks, and conditions went back to normal by mid-February, with high temperatures in the 70s and lows in the 50s.
Onion volume at Little Bear Produce should be about the same as last year, and early indications were that quality should be good, Brechler said.
The company also has a small organic deal for “a handful of retailers who are committed to the program,” he said.
Organic sales have been “steady,” Brechler said. “We really haven’t seen any explosive growth.”
Some big changes have occurred at The Onion House LLC in Weslaco, Texas.
Lance Neuhaus negotiated the purchase of the company from previous owner Don Ed Holmes in late 2023, and more recently, Neuhaus installed equipment to put up 2-, 3- and 5-pound consumer packs and added a new palletizer.
Neuhaus has been an onion grower in Texas for about seven years but previously shipped his product through other sheds. Now he said he will market his own onions.
The Onion House will sell the same kinds of onions as in the past: Mexican onions during the Mexican season and red, yellow and white onions from Texas when the Mexico deal winds down. Volume should be the same as last year.
Lance expected his Texas program to get underway between mid-to-late March.
“We should have all colors at that point,” he said.
Texas onions should continue through May or possibly into June. Mexico and Texas onions are shipped fresh, not out of storage.
Later in the year, The Onion House will market onions from Colorado and Idaho.
Growing conditions this season have been extremely dry, but the onions look excellent, he said. “It’s been a good growing season, and quality is great.”
Brechler of Little Bear Produce was hopeful that onion prices will be strong during the coming season, and for good reason.
“Production costs have not gone down,” he said. “It’s extremely expensive to raise anything this year.”
Brechler said growers, packers and shippers must struggle to make single-digit percentages, while retailer returns are in the high double digits.
“It needs to slide a little this way,” he said.
Neuhaus of The Onion House said current prices are down a bit from last year because of a large storage crop from the Northwest and a sizable crop in Mexico. But he expected prices to improve when the Texas crop begins.
