Imperial Valley crop looks strong; Central Valley could be challenged
Imperial Valley crop looks strong; Central Valley could be challenged
The California spring onion season starts around mid-April with onions out of the Imperial Valley in the state's southern desert region. That deal normally runs about six weeks, leading into the San Joaquin Valley onion harvest which starts around late May or early June. A late spring and summer deal, the San Joaquin Onion harvest begins around Bakersfield at the southern end of the valley and moving northward to the west side of the central San Joaquin Valley. The harvest generally continues into late August in the San Joaquin Valley.
This year, the weather in the Imperial Valley has been favorable and a good crop is expected.
Kent Romrell of Potandon Produce LLC, headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, which has an onion program in the Imperial Valley, said that the crop there looks to be "really, really good." He expects good sizing. "Probably all sizes will be available," he said.
In the San Joaquin Valley, rainfall is continuing later into the season than usual. Growers said that it is too early yet to know what effect that will have on the crop, but the effect should not be severe unless the rains continue into May.
As of April 11, the long-range forecast called for more rain for five out of the next 10 days. It is unusual in the San Joaquin Valley to get more than an occasional light rain after the first of April, and growers are hopeful that the pattern will return to normal soon.
"Mother Nature has thrown us a little curve ball here lately in the San Joaquin onions with all the rain, but it is still pretty early," said Doug Stanley, general manager of Harris Fresh in Coalinga, CA. "At this point, I don't see any serious damage showing up. There is a little more disease pressure than normal, but we are staying ahead of that. As long as Mother Nature doesn't do this into May, we'll be fine."
Mr. Stanley noted that onions are driven more by hours of daylight than by heat units, so even though temperatures have been cooler than normal, it shouldn't delay the crop much in the San Joaquin Valley.
Onion acreage in the Imperial Valley is "pretty much status quo" this year, but tonnage may be up slightly over last year, Mr. Stanley said. In the San Joaquin Valley, "acreage overall, I think, is going to be up slightly. Most of the major shippers have steady programs, he said. "Everybody has sort of found their niche and they're staying there, and that is good. It makes for a much more stable market." What increase there is, he said, "is probably in the hands of one or two shippers."
Rodney Van Bebber of Pappas & Co. in Mendota, CA, said that the onion acreage in the San Joaquin Valley is "a hard one to figure," partly because of the increase in the amount of onions being grown on contract. "There is a lot of contract stuff now."
Mr. Van Bebber added that there are uncertainties about what the rain "has done to the crop up here." There has been "so much rain," he said, that "there has got to be some problems." The crop may not be "as early or as big" as usual. There could be a gap between the desert onion deal and the start of the San Joaquin Valley onions, he said. As the season was set to start in the Imperial Valley, onion markets were being affected by storage onions in the Pacific Northwest and by new-crop onions out of Texas.
"The rumor is that storage onions are winding down," except for red onions, said Mr. Van Bebber. "Apparently there are a lot of reds still in storage. Texas has a pretty good crop, and they say that demand is pretty good on them."
"The Northwest is on the verge of being completely dry on jumbo yellow onions," said Mr. Stanley. "But there are still a lot of reds available. The red market, I think, is going to continue to be soft just because there is oversupply right now. But I think the market for standard six-pound jumbo yellow is going to stay solid for at least the next six to eight weeks and probably 12 weeks."
As for Texas, however, "I think a lot of people overestimated the Texas crop," Mr. Stanley said. "I don't think Texas has the volume that they wanted to have, that they needed."
According to the National Onion Association, California led the nation in acreage by a slim margin in 2005 in terms of total onion acreage planted, with 21,600 acres. Idaho- eastern Oregon and Washington were a close second and third at 20,800 acres and 20,430 acres, respectively.
In terms of estimated 2005 crop volume, the top three positions were reversed, with Idaho-eastern Oregon producing an estimated 1.1 billion pounds, Washington 1.07 billion pounds and California 1.02 billion pounds.
(For more on the California onion deal, see the April 17 issue of The Produce News.)
This year, the weather in the Imperial Valley has been favorable and a good crop is expected.
Kent Romrell of Potandon Produce LLC, headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, which has an onion program in the Imperial Valley, said that the crop there looks to be "really, really good." He expects good sizing. "Probably all sizes will be available," he said.
In the San Joaquin Valley, rainfall is continuing later into the season than usual. Growers said that it is too early yet to know what effect that will have on the crop, but the effect should not be severe unless the rains continue into May.
As of April 11, the long-range forecast called for more rain for five out of the next 10 days. It is unusual in the San Joaquin Valley to get more than an occasional light rain after the first of April, and growers are hopeful that the pattern will return to normal soon.
"Mother Nature has thrown us a little curve ball here lately in the San Joaquin onions with all the rain, but it is still pretty early," said Doug Stanley, general manager of Harris Fresh in Coalinga, CA. "At this point, I don't see any serious damage showing up. There is a little more disease pressure than normal, but we are staying ahead of that. As long as Mother Nature doesn't do this into May, we'll be fine."
Mr. Stanley noted that onions are driven more by hours of daylight than by heat units, so even though temperatures have been cooler than normal, it shouldn't delay the crop much in the San Joaquin Valley.
Onion acreage in the Imperial Valley is "pretty much status quo" this year, but tonnage may be up slightly over last year, Mr. Stanley said. In the San Joaquin Valley, "acreage overall, I think, is going to be up slightly. Most of the major shippers have steady programs, he said. "Everybody has sort of found their niche and they're staying there, and that is good. It makes for a much more stable market." What increase there is, he said, "is probably in the hands of one or two shippers."
Rodney Van Bebber of Pappas & Co. in Mendota, CA, said that the onion acreage in the San Joaquin Valley is "a hard one to figure," partly because of the increase in the amount of onions being grown on contract. "There is a lot of contract stuff now."
Mr. Van Bebber added that there are uncertainties about what the rain "has done to the crop up here." There has been "so much rain," he said, that "there has got to be some problems." The crop may not be "as early or as big" as usual. There could be a gap between the desert onion deal and the start of the San Joaquin Valley onions, he said. As the season was set to start in the Imperial Valley, onion markets were being affected by storage onions in the Pacific Northwest and by new-crop onions out of Texas.
"The rumor is that storage onions are winding down," except for red onions, said Mr. Van Bebber. "Apparently there are a lot of reds still in storage. Texas has a pretty good crop, and they say that demand is pretty good on them."
"The Northwest is on the verge of being completely dry on jumbo yellow onions," said Mr. Stanley. "But there are still a lot of reds available. The red market, I think, is going to continue to be soft just because there is oversupply right now. But I think the market for standard six-pound jumbo yellow is going to stay solid for at least the next six to eight weeks and probably 12 weeks."
As for Texas, however, "I think a lot of people overestimated the Texas crop," Mr. Stanley said. "I don't think Texas has the volume that they wanted to have, that they needed."
According to the National Onion Association, California led the nation in acreage by a slim margin in 2005 in terms of total onion acreage planted, with 21,600 acres. Idaho- eastern Oregon and Washington were a close second and third at 20,800 acres and 20,430 acres, respectively.
In terms of estimated 2005 crop volume, the top three positions were reversed, with Idaho-eastern Oregon producing an estimated 1.1 billion pounds, Washington 1.07 billion pounds and California 1.02 billion pounds.
(For more on the California onion deal, see the April 17 issue of The Produce News.)
