Haun calls drip ‘a huge conservation measure’
Haun calls drip ‘a huge conservation measure’
Growing conditions this summer in the Treasure Valley brought the onions on earlier for most shippers, and Herb Haun, vice president and sales manager of Haun Packing in Weiser, ID, said his company is no exception.
“We started harvesting the first week of August, a week to 10 days ahead of normal,” Haun said mid-August. “The market was good, and the onions were ready,” he added.
But Haun said the water situation in that region remains “critical,” and he emphasized, “We’re all learning a little more about conservation. There has been quite a shifting of crops, and there are not as many sugar beets or as much corn. There is more in the way of grains, and more ground lying fallow.”
And, Haun said, drip irrigation is becoming more commonplace, with 70 percent of the onions shipped by Haun Packing under drip now. Much of the product comes from Haun’s brother, Fred, who is company president and primary grower for the operation.
Five years ago the farm went to more drip irrigation and heavier planting to produce a more uniform onion of medium size for an increase in retail sales.
“Drip is a huge conservation measure,” Herb Haun said. “We don’t gain a lot in yields, but we do gain in quality.
To that end, he said that in mid-August the onions were sizing average or better, and “with the hot weather we had, the onions have cured really well.”
He said, “Quality is excellent this year.”
Haun Packing ships 85 percent yellow Spanish Sweets, 10 percent reds and the remainder in whites. Like most of his Treasure Valley counterparts, Haun has noticed an uptick in demand for reds.
“They do seem to be growing more in popularity and demand,” he said.
Storage was set to start on Sept. 7, “a week earlier than normal also,” but Haun said that the season for the fourth-generation onion operation is expected to run normally.
“We’ll clean up somewhere around March 10-15, like we generally do,” he said.
Haun Packing is third-party audited and certified GAP and GHP through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each package can be traced back not only to Haun Packing but to the specific field.
