Shuman Farms, located in Reidsville, GA, the heart of the Vidalia growing region in Southeast Georgia, has been in the Vidalia onion industry for two generations. 

The Vidalia onion is the most famous onion in the world, and it created the sweet onion category.

BJ's Wholesale Club is adding five clubs to its growing portfolio across the United States. The expansion includes plans for a new club in Madison, AL, increasing BJ’s retail footprint to 20 states.

BJ’s will also open clubs in Mt. Juliet, TN, Johnson City, NY, Lewis Center, OH, and North Jacksonville, FL. These clubs add to BJ’s 2023 roster of openings, following the retailer’s newest locations in Davenport, FL, and McDonough, GA, as well as the recent announcement of BJ’s first-ever club in the state of Tennessee slated to open this summer in LaVergne.

With 7,200 acres in the ground for the 2023 season, the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas has the potential for harvesting its largest onion crop in a decade.

At least that’s the view of Dante Galeazzi, president of the Texas International Produce Association and manager of the South Texas Onion Committee. The committee is responsible for managing Federal Marketing Onion 959, which collects assessments from Texas onion producers to enforce quality standards, fund research and conduct marketing programs.

The North American Blueberry Council has selected Alyssa Houtby as its government affairs director. In this newly created role, Houtby will lead the council’s advocacy efforts and will work closely with Monument Advocacy, NABC’s Washington, DC-based lobbying firm.

A common theme of meetings that I’ve been in recently is education —  both for the end consumer and for category managers, buyers, and anyone new to the world of produce. It can be hard to wrap one’s head around the number of varieties, various seasons and countries of origin. Not to mention, all the growing intricacies and supply chain knowhows. It seems that in a world where anyone can “Google it,” there are still questions about the thousands of different produce items.

The onion marketing situation seems to be lining up well for the start of the Texas spring onion deal as some of the competitive production areas are close to clearing out their supplies, leaving a supply void to be filled by Rio Grande Valley production.