Kinoshita: Onion crop looking good
Kinoshita: Onion crop looking good
Fagerberg Produce, located in Eaton, CO, is moving into its 2013 onion season with a sense of guarded optimism. “The snows that we got in April and May really, really helped things,” said Sales Manager Alan Kinoshita. “We’re not 100 percent normal. But we’re pretty good.”
Kinoshita said planted acreage has remained stable this season. Wetter conditions during the spring translated to planting delays in 2013.
“We are two weeks later than normal,” he commented. Some early planted stands thinned out due to weather. “But the rest look fairly normal,” he said.
Alan Kinoshita, sales manager at Fagerberg Produce, said the company has secured necessary water rights to bring in its onion crop. Colorado continues to battle drought conditions throughout much of the state. (Photo by Kathleen Thomas Gaspar)The company and its grower network produce reds, yellows and whites. “We’ll have our own sweets,” Kinoshita said, adding that additional sweet volume is also sourced from other western growers.
Although water worries continue to worsen in Colorado, Kinoshita said the company has secured adequate water rights to bring in its crop. With the harvest set to start at the beginning of August, Kinoshita said it is too early to predict volume this season.
“We could still have a hail storm,” he said to illustrate. Onions will be fully harvested by the first week of October.
Onions are marketed by Fagerberg Produce under the “Mile High Legacy” and “Mountain Pride” labels, and marketing occurs throughout the year. Sweets are sold under the “Colorado Sweet” label. Private label is also available at customer request.
Approximately 15 percent of Fagerberg Produce’s onions stay in Colorado, with the majority of volume sold to markets in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast.
Three-pound bags have been good sellers for yellows, and consumers have favored both two- and three-pound bags for whites.
Reds are available as a bulk item and are also sold in two- and three-pound bags at customer request.
On the food-safety front, Kinoshita said the company is PTI compliant. “We’re fully compliant with all third-party audits,” he noted.
