Green Onions

Altar Produce expands specialty vegetable programs

Fri, 02 May 2025 17:42:18 GMT

Altar Produce says it is significantly expanding its specialty vegetable offerings with plans for green onions, Brussels sprouts and broccoli.

As part of the initiative, the Calexico, Calif.-based company has announced growth on its year-round green onion program, designed to meet the rising global demand with consistent supply, scalable volume and tailored presentations. With operations rooted in strategic growing regions, the program ensures continuous availability and optimal freshness for retail, foodservice and wholesale partners, according to a news release.

“Our ability to pack in any presentation format requested by our clients — from consumer-ready retail packs, foodservice to customized bulk solutions — reflects our deep commitment to flexibility and customer service 52 weeks per year,” said Rodrigo Torres, director of global sales for Altar Produce. “We’re focused on delivering value beyond the field.”

Altar Produce says the program is supported by its investment in infrastructure and production capacity, enabling the company to scale up volume without compromising quality. Each step in the supply chain is reinforced by stringent quality controls and industry certifications, guaranteeing premium, uniform product standards year-round, the company says.

Beyond green onions, Altar Produce is expanding its portfolio with a strong focus on Brussels sprouts and broccoli. These categories reflect consumer trends and market opportunities where the company’s expertise in field operations, postharvest management and logistics can deliver exceptional results, according to the release.

Baja Son Growers plans to increase asparagus, green onion volumes

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 06:34:27 GMT

Baja Son Growers , Salinas, will have expanded supplies of asparagus from Central Mexico this summer.

The company began harvest on May 1, and supplies are increasing, and the company is encouraging buyers to take advantages of ad opportunities in June, according to a news release.

“With increased acreage out of Central Mexico, we will be able to handle more ad opportunities than we have in previous seasons,” Robert Leonard, director of sales, said in the release.

The company will be able to ship two million boxes of asparagus each season with new plantings in Baja and Caborca.

Baja Son Growers also grows and packs two million cases of conventional green onions and 250,000 cases of organic green onions, according to the release.

Leonard said the company plans on increasing green onion volumes by 5-8% a year for the next five years, and asparagus 10-15 annually for the next five years.

The company introduced a new website this year at www.bajasongrowers.com, featuring product details and farming information, to connect with and educate customers and consumers, according to the release.

Related story:

Baja Son Growers offers organic green onions year-round

USDA extends CFAP deadline, adds dozens of specialty crops

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:07:03 GMT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the deadline for applying for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funds, and added dozens of herbs and specialties as eligible crops.

Growers now have until Sept. 11 to apply for the money; the original deadline was Aug. 28.

Besides adding numerous specialty crops to the eligibility list, the USDA also added seven commodities to funds for sales losses, including green onions , pistachios, walnuts and watermelons .

The added specialty crops include: bananas, bok choy, star fruit, cherimoyas, dates, red dragon fruit, leeks, mesculin mix, microgreens, nectarines, pomegranates, tangelos, turnips and a number of fresh herbs. A full list of commodities, and what funds they are eligible for, are on the USDA’s CFAP webpage.

The USDA’s Farm Service Agency, which is overseeing the program, has paid out 80% of the approved payments, to ensure funding for other applicants. The FSA is now paying the remaining 20%, according to an Aug. 11 news release on the changes to the CFAP. New applicants will receive the 100%, although payment caps of $250,000 for each grower or $750,000 for corporations (with three eligible partners) are still in place.

Agriculture Sonny Perdue said President Trump “is standing with America’s farmers and ranchers” in the release.

“That is why he authorized this $16 billion of direct support in the CFAP program and today we are pleased to add additional commodities eligible to receive much needed assistance,” Perdue said in the release.

The changes come just days after Democrats on a House Agriculture subcommittee asked the USDA to ensure specialty crop growers, particularly young and socially disadvantaged growers, received funds.

Several dozen agricultural groups including a dozen representing fresh fruit and vegetable growers, recently sent a letter to Perdue, requesting the deadline extension and more outreach to encourage growers to apply, as well as remove payment caps.

One of those groups is the United Fresh Produce Association .

“CFAP has provided important relief to fresh produce growers across the country who produce a diverse range of produce that have been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” United Fresh President and CEO Tom Stenzel said in a news release about USDA’s announcement on changes to the program. “We are grateful to USDA for expanding this program and look forward to continue working with them to support growers whose produce is not covered under this further expansion of covered specialty crops.”

According to the USDA, 1,740 comments were made through June 22 on what additional commodities should be included in the program.

“After reviewing over 1,700 responses, even more farmers and ranchers will have the opportunity for assistance to help keep operations afloat during these tough times,” according to the release.

As of Aug. 10, the program has paid out $305.6 million to specialty crop growers, and $7.04 billion to all producers included in the program’s coverage, according to the USDA’s CFAP Dashboard.

More details are available at the Federal Register’s notice of funding availability and changes to the CFAP final rule .

Related stories:

Industry groups ask for CFAP extension, changes to eligibility

Democrats: Give more CFAP $$ specialty crop growers

USDA adds online portal to apply for coronavirus funds

Salinas Valley crops look promising, growers say

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 19:00:24 GMT

Good growing weather this winter should result in some exceptional fruit and vegetable crops out of California’s Salinas Valley this season.

Monterey County, which encompasses the valley, produced about $2.8 billion worth of vegetables in 2018, the latest year for which statistics are available from the county agricultural commissioner’s office, and just over $1 billion worth of fruit.

Salinas-based Coastline Family Farms will ship about 25 kinds of mixed vegetables, including iceberg lettuce, romaine, romaine hearts, leaf lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, green onions, kale and spinach this season, said Tami Gutierrez, vice president sales and marketing.

Wet weather during planting and again during harvesting in April could reduce early-season yields and result in scattered quality issues that should be resolved as the season progresses, she said.

Volume at Coastline should be about the same as last year early in the season but likely will be down during the summer as the company cuts back planting because of competition from other growing areas during the peak growing season and because of the impact of COVID-19.

“Due to COVID-19, we have reduced our summer planting because we don’t know what the recovery period is going to be like,” she said.

Related content: Helping growers safeguard workers from the coronavirus

Gonzalez, Calif.-based Misionero Vegetables LLC has year-round programs for salads, value-added lettuces and mostly organic vegetables, said Nicole Zapata, marketing manager.

Like many Salinas grower-shippers, the company grows in the desert during the fall and winter and transitions back to the Salinas Valley for spring and summer.

“Given the current circumstances happening across the globe, we are being mindful of our planting schedule,” Zapata said.

“We’re maintaining retail distribution and anticipating potential bounce back for foodservice sales throughout the summer and fall.”

There were a few weather challenges this winter, Zapata said, but overall, quality is good.

Iceberg lettuce, romaine, romaine hearts, broccoli, cauliflower, green leaf and red leaf are shipping from Salinas-based Bengard Ranch Inc., said Steve Koran, general manager.

The company now has a celery deal in Oxnard that will switch to Salinas in June.

Quality is excellent, he said.

“We didn’t have any disruption with any weather events.”

Product is plentiful, he said, but he added that retail and especially foodservice demand was uncertain in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Related content: Salinas volume lighter due to rain

“Everybody is rolling along, but the distribution avenues are going to change drastically until restaurants open again,” said Gib Papazian, president of Lucky Strike Farms , Burlingame, Calif.

Although restaurants in California were closed because of the outbreak, more than half were open for takeout orders, he said.

“They’re not doing a brisk business, but they’re doing enough business to keep their place on life support,” Papazian said.

He said he was concerned for independent restaurants.

“Several of them are having a terrible struggle right now,” he said.

Lucky Strike’s foodservice business is “within acceptable risk tolerances,” Papazian said.

“It is still a daily financial challenge collecting money and paying our growers in accordance with our historical practices,” he said. “But we’ll get through it.”

The company handles a full line of vegetables, citrus, some melons and fruit.

“I expect quality is going to be top-notch through the summer,” he said.

The berry deal also was progressing well.

In an April 10 crop update, The Buzz, from Watsonville, Calif.-based California Giant Berry Farms , the company said that Salinas berries should be good quality despite some mid-April showers.

With no rain forecast for the rest of April, Cal Giant was looking forward to “a very rapid increase in production.”

“Our blackberry and raspberry season will also kick off come May and into June,” the company said.

Raspberries were set to begin in the middle of May, and blackberries should be ready for harvest by the middle of June.

Related content: Salinas Valley Produce

New Mexico onions — Building on exceptional 2019

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:55:55 GMT

By any measure, 2019 was an exceptional year for New Mexico onion marketers, and the outlook for 2020 is again calling for good sizing and quality, suppliers say.

New Mexico accounted for 8.4% of total U.S. onion shipments in 2019, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That compares with 8.59% of domestic shipments in 2018, according to the USDA.

New Mexico’s harvested onion acreage in 2019 was 6,600 acres, down from 7,100 acres harvested both in 2018 and 2017.

However, the value of the 2019 New Mexico onion crop was up sharply compared with 2018. With a value of $102 million in 2019, New Mexico’s crop value was up 29% compared with $79.5 million in 2018.

Yields of New Mexico onions in 2019 were 605 cwt., up from 590 cwt. in 2018 and 680 cwt. in 2017. Total onion production in New Mexico was 3.99 million cwt., down from 4.19 million cwt. in 2018 and much lower than 4.8 million cwt.

2019 review

At 7.94 million 50-pound sacks, the New Mexico crop was slightly lower than 8.1 million 50-pound sacks in 2018, statistics show.

Growers had a historically good year for pricing in 2019. The USDA Market News Service reported that prices for yellow jumbo onions traded in a range of $12-20 per 50-pound sack from early June to mid-August.

By way of contrast, the USDA said New Mexico yellow jumbo onion prices in 2018 traded at $6-8 per sack in the same time frame. Growers generally plant about 70% yellow onions, with the balance split between reds or whites.

2020 outlook

“Harvest is underway here in New Mexico, and the crop looks fantastic,” said Chris Franzoy, CEO and president of Young Guns Inc. , Hatch, N.M. Billy the Kid Produce LLC, Deming, N.M., is the family’s partner company.

While 2019’s market performance for New Mexico onions was “one for the record books,” Franzoy said he expects this year’s crop to move out with big demand.

“We’re optimistic this market will be decent all the way through the summer,” he said.

Weather has been conducive to good quality, he said, and overall acreage could be similar to a year ago.

Retail sales have been strong and that is expected to continue, he said.

“We’ve had phenomenal weather here in New Mexico, much better than last year’s weather, and we see the onions sizing very well,” he said.

Jack Humphreys, owner of Zia Onion Sales and Fishing Expeditions, Costilla, N.M., said the firm will have good supplies of New Mexico onions though mid-August, with good sizing expected this year.

Harvest began about May 15 for Barker Produce, said Brandon Barker, president of the Las Cruces, N.M.-based firm.

Barker Produce should have similar acreage to a year ago, and Barker also said the state’s onion acreage was expected to be about the same as 2019. Sizing will be strong, Barker said.

“It will be a good mix for the first few weeks and then we’ll have a little bigger onions toward the end of June and then the first of July,” he said.

“We’ll start off with a little smaller onions and move up as July goes on.”

The firm will have New Mexico onions into August.

Steven Smith, president and owner of National Onion Inc ., Las Cruces, said the company will offer Mexican onions through early July but will not source any New Mexican onions this year because of a grower death.

The firm will offer Northwest storage onions by late August, he said.

On May 28 this year, the USDA reported prices of $9-11 per 50-sacks of New Mexico yellow onions.

Expectations

Despite the slowdown in onion foodservice business related to COVID-19, Barker said the market outlook is positive.

“I think we’re going to be better than most people were expecting,” Barker said.

“You know, with everything going on, I think we thought it was going to be tough, but now the economy is opening up, and actually the last couple of weeks have been way better than expected,” he said. “It’s good quality and people are really starting to come our way. It’s been a good thing.”

Barker said he expects to foodservice demand will get “better and better as the economy continues to open up.”

Franzoy said the country’s reopening is encouraging.

“We do remain optimistic that things will get going fairly soon,” he said. “And if most of America feels the way I do about this, then we expect huge support (for restaurants),” he said.

Related:
Virtual tours and demos, wine and food: Industry responds to crisis
COVID-19’s effects on onion market expected to lighten over summer
Newest FreshFacts report puts sales in COVID-19 context

Baja Son Growers double organic green onion production

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:35:41 GMT

Baja Son Growers , Salinas, Calif., which ships organic green onions year-round, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

The company has doubled production of the green onions in the past year.

“The Baja Son family is thankful for our customers and their patronage and trust over the past 10 years,” Robert Leonard, director of sales, said in a news release. “As a vertically integrated company we are able to control all aspects of the growing process from seed to store 52 weeks per year.”

As supplies pick up, the company is encouraging customers to “take advantage of various ad opportunities beginning new through the holiday season,” according to the release.

Related stories:

Baja Son Growers plans to increase asparagus, green onion volumes

Baja Son Growers offers organic green onions year-round

Baja Son Growers offers organic green onions year-round

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:40:36 GMT

Baja Son Growers LLC , Salinas, Calif., is offering a year-round organic green onion program under the Baja Son Growers label.

Starting Oct. 21, the company will be sourcing from the Mexicali, Mexico area, according to a news release, with 2 bags of 24 in a case or 12 bags of 5.5-ounces.

“We continually listen to the feedback provided by our customers,” Robert Leonard, Baja Son Growers sales manager, said in the release. “They shared their needs for an organic green onion program, and we are excited to announce that this program will be going live on Oct. 21, 2019.”

The fully integrated company oversees the entire supply chain, Leonard said in the release.

Longtime grower Baja Son entered opened the sales and marketing arena in 2010, according to the release. and offers asparagus and green onions under the label.

Baja Son Growers has offices in Salinas and Calexico, Calif.

Organic Fresh Trends 2023 indicates increasing interest in organic green onions

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 17:56:45 GMT

The Packer’s Organic Fresh Trends 2023 survey is valuable to marketers and retailers seeking to answer the question, “Who is my organic consumer?” In mid-October of 2022, more than 1,000 U.S. consumers were asked about their organic purchasing habits.

A sought-after ingredient in soups, dips, omelets and more, green onions are a mainstay for American consumers.

The Packer’s Organic Fresh Trends 2023 indicates increasing interest in organic green onions. Seventeen percent of consumers in the survey said they exclusively buy organic green onions, up from 14% in the 2022 survey and 11% in 2021.

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Forty-one percent of consumers said they bought organic green onions at least periodically, up from 31% in 2022 and 28% in 2021.

Organic Fresh Trends research indicates the heaviest consumers of organic green onions are higher-income shoppers. For example, 22% of consumers earning more than $100,000 said they shop exclusively for organic onions, compared with just 12% for those earning less than $25,000.

Younger consumers also indicate much greater interest in organic green onions compared with their older counterparts. Organic Fresh Trends research found that 28% of consumers 18-29 years old said they exclusively purchased organic green onions, compared with 9% for those 50-59 years old and 10% of consumers over 60 years old.

Church Brothers Farms recalls green onions

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 19:29:48 GMT

The Food and Drug Administration said Salinas, Calif.-based Church Brothers is voluntarily recalling 1,271 cases of green onions due to a potential salmonella contamination.

These cases were distributed to a small number of retail and foodservice customers in Canada and the U.S. (Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia).

The recall is a result of a single product sample conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which indicated the presence of salmonella, according to the announcement. The FDA said Church Brothers reported this issue to the administration. The FDA said no illnesses have occurred or been reported to date.

Products impacted by this call include four by 2-pound cases with the lot code CB272378. Products were sold under the brands Trade Joe’s, Church Brothers and Imperial Fresh.