“It’s the main crop that we grow,” said Anthony Cowart. “My brother Jimmy and I are fifth-generation farmers and we started our operation back in 1986 with something around 50 acres and we’ve grown to averaging around 500 every year.”
Cowart Farms supplies chain stores nationally and in Canada through its partnership with Keystone Fruit Marketing, and also does some of its own in-house sales. That partnership started in the late 1990s when Cowart Farms started focusing its efforts on creating the ideal sugar levels for its onions.
“We started attracting attention from marketers, and we established a relationship with Keystone Fruit Marketing and started working with the buyers and chain stores and we created a good relationship,” Cowart said.
After last year’s season produced a strong year, the 2025 crop is expected to follow suit with good sizing and excellent flavor expected.
As usual, the farm expects to harvest sometime in early April, and after five weeks, the onions start to go into storage, so that people can enjoy the uniqueness of Vidalia onions throughout the year.
Cowart said that Vidalia onions often star in cooked meals, but are also used as a fresh onion in salads and of course on burgers during barbecue season. These onions, he noted, are special.
“It’s the uniqueness of the soil and the fact that we have a good supply of clean water, it’s that combination,” Cowart said. “The category has grown immensely over the years, and the No.1 sweet onion in the world is the Vidalia.”
He also credits the onion’s sweetness for its popularity.
There’s no other onion that comes close to it, as far as the sweet category,” Cowart said. “It’s a top-of-the-line cooking onion.”
Another key to the company’s success has been its dedication to quality over quantity.
“We never wanted to be a 1,000-acre deal, or get as big we could get,” Cowart said. “We just try to provide a good quality product to the consumer, and that has paid off over the years.”
Cowart Farms also succeeds by finding new ways to improve its operation.
“This year, we have added on to our packing facility, so that we can have a bigger supply for a longer period in the summer,” he said. “We’ve added the latest up-to-date equipment, we purchased an Omni sorter with the Ellipse software package, which gives us the opportunity for more accurate quality control.”
That has everyone at the company looking forward to an excellent Vidalia onion season.
“We’re definitely hoping and praying for that,” Cowart said. “If Mother Nature cooperates with us, we’re going to have a good supply.”
