Just weeks after re-establishing himself in the Treasure Valley and taking on the role of sales/operations manager for Four Rivers Onion Packing in Weiser, ID, Ken Stewart provided The Produce News with a crop update for the longtime Idaho operation now under ownership of Tracy Fowler.

Fowler purchased Four Rivers Packing from Randy and Jan Smith and Dennis and Debra Ujiiye in mid-June, and Stewart joined the team in late July. The company name was modified to include the word “Onion.”

Both Fowler and Stewart have extensive background in onions, and both men were previously affiliated with L&M Cos. Stewart was also sales manager at Fort Boise Produce in Parma for a number of years.

While many Treasure Valley sheds got off to an early season this year, Four Rivers started “right on average,” Stewart said. He added that the decision to start shipping early onions on Aug. 24 was to allow the onions additional sizing time in the field.

“We could’ve started 10 days to two weeks earlier,” Stewart said in late August. “But we decided to let the onions size up the skin to get pretty. Our onions sized really well, and we’re seeing lots of 3.5-inch jumbos. We’ve had great size since we started shipping.”

He said storage was scheduled to start the second week of September, and harvest will wrap up early to mid-October. Most of the onions are packed in 50-pound sacks.

“We’re selling colossal and jumbos as well as some medium yellows,” he added. “We don’t have very many super colossal now, but we will have more of them as the onions continue to come in.”

“Our yields are normal, and our overall quality is really, seriously excellent,” he said.

Stewart said the crop is 80 percent yellow, 15 percent red and 5 percent white, which is a common split in the Valley. However, he said, “The demand for reds is growing. Right now the onion market overall is good, and prices are holding stable for the larger size.”

Water has been an issue in the Treasure Valley, with growers repositioning fields to mitigate irrigation shortfalls. Stewart said Four Rivers “did fine this year, but we do need a good snowpack this winter,” he said.

Four Rivers is “concentrating on putting up a quality pack,” Stewart said. The majority of sales are to foodservice and distributors.

At the time of the purchase of Four Rivers, Fowler said he did not anticipate changes in the operating procedure at the main facility, which consists of eight buildings on 11 acres. Three additional storage buildings are located nearby. Stewart said the operation is GAP-certified through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The facility packs for a base of several growers who have supplied the plant for a number of years. Randy and Jan Smith have stayed to ensure a smooth transition. Stewart’s wife, Jan, is also part of the administrative team.

“We are transitioning really will with Randy and Jan, and if we can keep Randy out of the fishing holes, we’ll have him for the season,” Stewart said.