Texas onions looking at a later start and eyeballing the future
The Texas onion industry endured a freeze last season, which left it waiting to pick. This season, the industry is waiting on the USDA for a decision to continue the Texas onion marketing order or not.
“The future of the onion marketing order is our biggest concern right now,” said Dante Galeazzi, CEO/president at Texas International Produce Association. “The season is upon us. The South Texas onion marketing order is supposed to start March 1. We already have people harvesting and we don’t know if the USDA is going to keep it in place."
The decision to keep the marketing order or not started two years ago, when the marketing order didn’t receive as much support as necessary.
“Because the marketing order didn’t receive a supermajority vote in 2020, it is up for review this year,” Galeazzi said. “The USDA began a process of data collection, which was complete in January. Now, we’re waiting for Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to issue the notice.”
While the waiting game continues regarding the marketing order, Texas onion growers are happy they haven’t had disruptive weather issues like what they experienced a year ago.
“So far, growing conditions have been great, nothing like 2021. Last year, South Texas experienced the Valentine freeze,” Galeazzi said. “On Feb. 14, we experienced multiple hours of below-freezing temperatures, which hadn’t happened since 1989."
There have been no abnormal weather events so far this year. Although, there have been blasts of cool air, making onion shippers all a little nervous, Galeazzi said.
With that Valentine freeze experience still in Texas onion growers’ collective short-term memory, any hints at a similar event make them a little jumpy.
The more mature onions came off fine last year. Then, there was a three- to four-week delay, which moved the crop later into the season. The Texas onion industry lost the advantage of being the first domestic onions available, according to Galeazzi.
“This year looks more like a normal season. Sizing is going to be good," Galeazzi said. “We are typically ready on March 1. But temperatures have been cooler lately, so we will be delayed until mid-March.”
Looking to the future
Texas onion growing will evolve just as the population of Texas has over the past two years, and Galeazzi sees the future of the industry growing in new ways.
“We will be experimenting with different varieties, especially different flavor profiles,” Galeazzi said. “Recipes are calling for specific types of onions now. Consumers are starting to demand flavor. That’s what our future looks like — making that happen. We’ve had a huge growth in population in Texas during the pandemic. That gives us a greater opportunity for locally grown sales."
Still, looking ahead, there are some questions still to be answered, Galeazzi said.
“Looking down the road, we need to stretch our window of opportunity for sales volume,” Galeazzi said. “Can we get better storage? Can we start earlier or ship longer than the current season?”
The industry has also seen more and more onions being sold in bags. Galeazzi expects sales will move away from bulk, which has been standard for the industry.
