Strong Northwest onion crop expected

(Photo courtesy Onions 52)

Growing conditions in the Pacific Northwest were less than ideal this season. Nonetheless, onion producers in Washington and Oregon expect a good crop as harvest gets underway and onions head to storage.

Seattle-based FC Bloxom Co. works with several growers, shippers and packers in eastern Washington and markets yellow, red, white and sweet onions, said William Bloxom, an owner of the company. Harvesting of early yellow and red varieties was underway in mid-July and will run through September or October. He expected good production but said onions will not be as large as they were in past years. “It’s been a little cool,” Bloxom said. He also said the company’s acreage will be the same, but he expected higher yields. “It should be a pretty good harvest,” he said.

Syracuse, Utah-based Onions 52 will offer conventional and organic red, yellow, white and sweet onions out of Washington this season, as well as its proprietary Sunions “tearless and sweet” onions.  The Washington harvest will start in early August and last for several weeks as product is moved into storage, said Falon Brawley, director of marketing and business development. From there, it will be shipped through mid-May. Growing conditions were “difficult” this season, with a wet spring and extreme heat during the summer, the company’s sales team said. However, as of mid-July, conditions looked significantly better, and the onions were “progressing as normal, and the quality looks good.”

Countryside Acres LLC, Walla Walla, Wash., grows and sells yellow Walla Walla sweet onions and a small number of Candy Sweet onions, said Amanda Knowles, general manager. Harvest started late this year because of unusually cold and rainy weather. “We started cutting on June 17 and brought in the first bins on June 20, after the onions cured in gunny sacks in the field,” she said. “Constant rain every four days helped our onions grow to be the juiciest and sweetest we have ever had.” There weren’t any significant pest or disease problems this year, she said. But more onions did bolt and go to seed because of the colder springtime temperatures. “The quality this year is great,” Knowles said. “The onions are beautiful and hardened up nicely once it warmed up.”

Troutdale, Ore.-based  Strebin Farms LLC will start harvesting onions in Yerington, Nev., on Aug. 18 and will start shipping Sept. 1, said Dan Strebin, an owner and head of sales. The company offers white, red, sweet and a few yellow onions. Acreage will be the same as last year; however, the company will add some red and yellow organic onions this season. Growing conditions weren’t perfect in Yerington; nonetheless, onion quality should be good, Strebin said, “We were definitely cooler earlier this year,” he said. Temperatures dropped to 18 or 19 degrees at times, and some fields had to be replanted. By July, however, temperatures had returned to normal, with highs in the 90s and lows in the 60s. Windstorms also shook things up this spring, with wind gusts up to 55 mph in April, May and early June. “There was more wind than the valley has seen in a long time,” Strebin said. The wind blowing light sandy soil knocked out some plants, which likely will result in larger-profile product in certain fields where there are fewer onions. Despite the turbulent growing weather, Strebin anticipates some good onions this year. “I would say the quality will be very good the way things are looking currently,” he said in mid-July.

Northwest onion grower-shippers were hopeful that strong fob prices sparked by high temperatures last summer that resulted in reduced yields and tightened supplies will continue this season. “The hot temperatures in the Northwest last year definitely made the water situation much more of a challenge,” Knowles said. As a result, Countryside Acres had a much higher percentage of mediums, she said. “And they weren't as juicy as other years.” 

In Washington, yields per acre dropped from 90,720 pounds in 2020 to 63,840 pounds in 2021. And in Oregon, yields dropped from 90,048 pounds in 2020 to 79,856 pounds in 2021, according to the USDA. Utilized production of Washington onions was valued at $101 million in 2021, down 28% from 2020. Oregon onions had a total utilized production value of $115 million in 2021, down 5%.

Bloxom said early season prices likely will mirror the finishing prices of storage onions. “(Prices) should start out strong with the new crop,” he said. But fobs likely will start to fall as storage facilities fill and more of the Northwest onion crop hits the fresh market. “Prices are historically high, so (growers) want to get their crop to the market as fast as they can,” Bloxom said.

In mid-July, fob price of 40-pound cartons of jumbo yellow Walla Walla sweet onions was $25, up from $20 in 2021. Mediums were $23, up from $18 last year. “The onion market has been extremely good since last September,” Strebin said.

Growers were disappointed at first with the small sizes, he said, but they soon realized that the volume was needed to fill the market demand.

Northwest onion producers and distributors are pleased to see that foodservice business is on the rise following the downturn during the pandemic.

“Foodservice business suffered drastically during COVID-19,” Strebin said, since consumers no longer could dine out. “That just slammed foodservice.” But he said most foodservice distributors survived, and demand is returning.

Bloxom said he’s noticed that the restaurant industry has changed a bit. “You’re still seeing restaurants doing a lot of takeout,” he said. “This has been their strong suit, because it’s more profitable than using labor for waiting tables and the like.”

 

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