Vidalia crop rebounds from rough start, sets Shuman Produce up for a dynamite season
Vidalia crop rebounds from rough start, sets Shuman Produce up for a dynamite season
Troubles are nothing new for Vidalia onion growers and this season started off as no exception to that rule. Heavy rains during the transplanting season of November and December were followed by warm weather that persisted into January. But over the last two months, Mother Nature has cooperated perfectly and Shuman Produce Inc. of Reidsville, GA, has a very nice crop of Vidalia onions heading to market now.
“The Vidalia onion crop looks very good right now, we’ve had ideal weather so far this spring — what we’re digging as of late April, the quality looks good, sizing looks good, it’s going to be a good year to promote Vidalia onions — it’s going to be a great time to promote the category,” said John Shuman.
“We transplant these onions to the field in November and December and we had some unusually warm and wet weather. We had some stand loss and disease and higher mortality rated than we normally like, but you know what? As of late February, early March, the weather just turned off to almost near perfect conditions, ideal for growing onions, and it’s been that way ever since and the crop has really rebounded,” Shuman said. “The stand losses are still a factor but what’s improved is that the onions that are in the field have really made, the survivors are really going to turn out good. That’s what we’re optimistic about and excited about.”
That great weather will maximize yields and sizing and offset any early crop loss, Shuman said.
“This ideal weather and the good growing conditions are going to maximize yields in the fields, the plant population that made it through has seen ideal growing conditions and they are going to be up in weight — it’s going to be tonnage per acre and yield per acre in the field that makes up the difference.”
Not to say everything is perfect after the tough early start.
“Always there are problems in various places, we’ve heard of some issues others in the industry are having right now, but so far, knock on wood, we’re not seeing a lot of that here at Shuman Produce,” Shuman said. “Not to say it can’t be coming but I think as an industry as a whole we could look to have a very good Vidalia season.”
And a good market.
“Texas is going to be shorter, they don’t have as much volume as they normally do this time of year, the Pacific Northwest is winding down, so it’s looking like there’s a good sweet onion market set up for May.”
