Latest News From Oregon

Whether it’s accommodating suggestions from customers or following through with their own initiatives, onion grower-shippers in East Oregon and Idaho say they take sustainability seriously.

Inflation has been a challenge for East Oregon and Idaho onion grower-shippers, but they say rising supermarket prices haven’t affected sales of their product.

Troublesome springtime weather gave way to much-improved conditions during the early summer, enabling a good, on-time start to the East Oregon-Idaho onion harvest, grower-shippers said.

​​​​​​​After erratic spring weather, onion crop prospects in the Columbia Basin shared by Washington and Oregon have improved to strong levels.

Both Washington and Oregon potato output was down for the 2022 season, and prices have been elevated through mid-2023.

Oppy’s California cherry season is expected to end around June 20, just in time to overlap with the start of the Pacific Northwest cherry season.

Orchard View says its 100th season is shaping up to be large in volume and excellent in quality, even if it’s set to begin as much as two weeks later than usual due to chilly early spring weather.

Cold spring weather has hurt crop volume for Hood River, Ore.-based Duckwall Fruit, says Ed Weathers, sales manager.

Nyssa, Ore.-based Snake River Produce is gearing up for another Northwest onion season, with plans to offer yellow, red, white and sweet onions from mid-August to early April.

The Packer's Sept. 6 issue includes special coverage of the Northwest pear deal, and we want to hear from you, growers and marketers.

The USDA has announced the availability of up to $10 million in assistance to assist agricultural producers impacted by the worsening drought conditions in the Klamath River Basin.

Wildfires were causing a wide range of problems for the produce industry in the first two weeks of September.

Onion grower-shippers say choice is a major part of their program, including a range of sizes and varieties and, to some extent, organics.

The coronavirus has caused major shifts in the onion business, and grower-shippers across the Idaho-Eastern Oregon region say they are working to stay ahead of changes that sometimes come with little or no notice.

Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion shippers expect to ship a lot more of their product in packages this year, thanks to the coronavirus.

Though “normal” likely would be the last way one might describe 2020, onion suppliers across the Idaho-Eastern Oregon region say they can at least expect some normality in their crops this year.

Not unlike other segments of the onion business, organics have felt some of the pain the COVID-19 coronavirus has dished out; however, sales continue to be stable, suppliers say.

Buyers can expect ample onion volumes out of Washington and Oregon this year, suppliers say.

Northwest potato suppliers say they are eager to rev up a major sales engine in their industry — foodservice — as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic passes.

Potato production in the Northwest was strong in 2019, and the outlook for 2020 looks similar, said Chris Voigt, executive director of the Moses Lake-based Washington State Potato Commission. 

Christmas may be over and so is the retail market window for growers to sell poinsettias. That's because it only has a retail market until Christmas Day. AgDay journeys to a greenhouse during the retail rush.

The Dalles, Ore.-based Orchard View Cherries team is wrapping up a successful 2019 season.

The Equitable Food Initiative is partnering with Costco Wholesale in California, Oregon and Washington to boost consumer awareness and sales of EFI-certified fruits and vegetables.

The Pear Bureau Northwest recently appointed new officers on its board of directors.

California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, is celebrating a milestone this summer with its summer blueberry program — conventional and organic — seeing dramatic production increases.

The short-lived Oregon kiwiberry season has started.

Portland, Ore.-based Pear Bureau Northwest has hired Neil Ferguson as communications specialist.

Onions grown in Washington and Oregon appear to be delayed anywhere from one to three weeks from normal harvest due to early-season weather issues. But growers anticipate a healthy market once things get going.

Grower-shippers in the Treasure Valley region said onion prices are likely to spike as snow continues to hamper production.