Published 7:42 am Monday, July 3, 2023
Walla Walla sweet onion harvest is a third of the way through, an industry leader says, and yields are expected to increase as the season progresses.
Harvest began June 10, and is likely to wrap up by the second week of August.
“It was just a wacky spring, so cold in March, then super, super hot in May,” said Michael J. Locati, president of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee. “I don’t think things knew what to do. Any crops that overwintered got really stressed.”
The March coldness led to development of the fungus white rot, then 100-degree temperatures in May led to pink root, another fungus.
“It’s just one stress to another, and you’re scrambling to try to time the weather and (fungicide) applications right,” Locati said.
“Stuff that we planted in the spring seems to be going gangbusters,” he added.
The heat in May impacted yields, but they are improving now, Locati said. Right now he’s averaging about 50 to 55 bins per acre, but transplanted Walla Walla sweet onions will reach up to 100 bins per acre. One bin equals 1,000 pounds of onions.
Locati and other farmers direct-seed onions in September, which are harvested mid-June to mid-July.
They also send seed to a company in Arizona, which starts the bulb in a greenhouse and sends them back in March, which farmers hand-transplant into their fields. Those transplants are harvested July 10 through the first week of August.
Other direct-seeded onions are planted in the spring, then harvested later in August.
“That’s how you have fresh onions all summer long,” Locati said. “Our goal is to have the freshest onion in the store. Our other goal is to get it from the field to the grocery store in seven days.”
Locati estimates two-thirds of the crop are direct-seeded, and one-third are transplants.
Yield for transplants is higher, but so is the cost.
“We spend thousands of dollars an acre just to transplant them by hand, then turn around and send a crew in to pick them,” Locati said. “We’ve got a lot more money in those onions, but when the yield goes from 50 bins to 100 bins, hopefully our return on investment is there.”
During the high heat of summer, sweet onion harvest takes place at night, in the dark, with workers using headlamps.
So far, this summer has been cooler, Locati said.
“We’ve been starting at 4 a.m., (working) until about 9 a.m. for the harvest guys, then we finish up about 1 p.m.,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll change to 2 a.m.”
Locati Farms sells Walla Walla sweets on its website at 75 cents per pound to $1.50 per pound.
Locati said the market is fair, but the cost of production reflects inflation.
“Labor’s obviously not going down,” he said. “Compared to last year, the price of fuel is a little cheaper.”
Labor is the biggest need, he said.
“It flip flops — some days it’s labor at harvest and sometimes it’s full-time labor, and right now it’s full-time labor,” Locati said.
It’s been relatively easier to find workers at peak harvest time, but finding workers year-round has been more challenging, he said.
About 18 farmers raise the niche onion on 400 acres in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon.
Locati expects acreage will remain steady, but the number of growers to decline with farmer retirements and consolidation.
There’s room for new onion farmers in the Walla Walla area, he said.
“Oh, for sure,” he said. “There’s always room for a little competition.”
Due to their high water content and low sulfur and low pyruvic acid, half that of ordinary yellow storage onions, Walla Walla sweets are considered sweeter — despite containing negligible amounts of sugar — and have less “bite” or tendency to cause tears during chopping.
A federal marketing order designates the unique Walla Walla sweet onion variety, and establishes a federally protected growing area.
