Georgia Ag Commissioner confirms April 25 start date for Vidalia onion season
Georgia Ag Commissioner confirms April 25 start date for Vidalia onion season
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black has confirmed that the 2016 Vidalia onion season will officially begin April 25, meaning no sweet onions labeled as Vidalias can be shipped before midnight on that date.
With high temperatures through most of March, several area growers have said they will have Vidalias ready well in advance of that start date, with most targeting April 10-15 as the window when the crop will be mature enough to pack and ship. Some had requested that Black move the date up, which he has the flexibility to do.
Black’s decision to stay with April 25 start date is part of an ongoing effort to protect the state-owned Vidalia trademark by preventing potentially sub-standard early-season onions from reaching the market with the Vidalia name.
“You harvest and you ship an immature onion, it will melt on the shelf in a week. That’s what growers have faced year in and year out, trying to get the early onion out. And those early, poor-quality onions destroy the integrity of the brand,” Black has previously said.
Several large growers support Black’s decision, even though they have onions available. That is due in no small part to the years-long controversy surrounding a pack-and-ship date. After years of debate about establishing a date, Black first did so in August 2013.
After years of heated discussion and several court cases, this is the first season the commissioner’s pack date is in place uncontested. The move was implemented in 2014 but court challenges hamstrung it then and again in 2015 when the actual ship date arrived.
Despite the availability of earlier Vidalias, several large growers expressed to The Produce News support for adhering to Black’s start date as a sign of solidarity and recognition of the intent behind the date: to protect the Vidalia trademark.
Growers won’t be sitting on those early Vidalias though — those who wish to start shipping sooner than April 25 can ship a sweet onion label marked with PLU 4166 (representing “onions — other sweet”) at any point they choose.
