While most Georgians are hustling to finish last-minute shopping
for the holidays, Vidalia onion farmers are planting
the last of their fields and checking them twice.
"Right now, most everything looks good," said Reid
Torrance,
Tattnall County Extension Service director. "The majority
of growers will be through planting before Christmas, which is
a little ahead of schedule."
Except for some damaging, warmer-than-normal weather in
November,
the tiny onion plants are well on their way to a fruitful
spring.
They just have to get through winter first.
New Year, Less
Onions
Because prices have been so low recently, Vidalia onion growers
are planting less of the crop in hopes of improving market
prices.
So there won't be as many onions on the market next year,
Torrance
said.
Georgia growers usually plant about 15,000 acres of the crop.
Tattnall County farmers grow about half of those. This year,
Torrance
said, he expects farmers to plant about 1,000 fewer acres than
last year.
"The growers would like to see a reduction in acres,"
Torrance said. "These guys need a good year to put some
money
in their pockets. Farmers have barely broken even on prices over
the past few years."
In an average season, fresh-market prices usually start high,
then drop as the harvest continues. Over the past few seasons,
however, Georgia farmers have produced an abundance of
onions.
This oversupply has lowered the price farmers get, said George
Boyhan, a horticulturist with the University of Georgia College
of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Barring any adverse weather, though,
there should still be plenty of onions for shoppers next
year.
Extreme Weather
Tough
The onions don't mind some hard winter weather. But high winds
and extreme temperature swings can damage the crop.
Onions take the hardest hit when temperatures drop into the low
teens after a spell of warm, sunny days. The onion is 90 percent
water. Low temperatures can cause the water in the tender onion
cells to freeze and rupture.
The Vidalia onion crop hasn't minded the extended drought that
has gripped the state, either. In fact, the onions like it
dry.
"The drought doesn't much affect the onion," Boyhan
said. "Dry conditions keep disease pressure down." Vidalia
onions
are planted under irrigation.
Sweet Treat Available
Now
Shoppers don't have to wait until spring to enjoy fresh Vidalia
onions, though. Small Vidalias, sold as salad onions, are in
grocery
stores now.
The junior-sized onions are planted in early August. They are
then harvested until December, before they become mature. The
onions are good in stir fries and salads.
"You can grow a lot of salad onions on a small number of
acres," Torrance said. "It's a nice niche market for
some growers."
Mature Vidalia onions are harvested in mid-spring, mostly in
April.
Controlled-atmosphere storage allows growers to extend the time
they can market the crop. But even the stored onions don't last
far past September, Boyhan said.
Published on 12/12/00
Sweet Crop Gets Ready for Winter
Brad Haire is the former news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Experts/Sources:
CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries
11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars
11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education.
The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America
11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
CAES News
That's the spirit!
11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
CAES News
Poultry in motion
11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition
11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.