Onion crop fetches premium prices this season

Because of a wet spring and several frosts followed by a hot and dry summer, onion production for New York is expected to be 150,000 tons, down 28 percent from last year's crop of 210,000 tons. For western New York, onion growers are averaging anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent less per acre when compared to last year's crop. Onion yields in New York can vary considerably from year to year and from field to field. Average yields range from 15 to 18 tons per acre but can reach 25 tons or more per acre when growing conditions are favorable.

Besides low yields, the hot and dry conditions have also pushed the maturity of the crop ahead of schedule resulting in a higher percentage of small onions. Consequently, large onions are demanding a premium price because of limited supply while growers are having a hard time marketing the large supply of smaller "boiler" onions. Consumers can expect to pay as much as 20 percent more for locally grown large onions.

New York onions have earned the reputation for some of the highest quality storage onions in the nation. For New York, onions account for $47.4 million in retail sales at local farm markets and super markets. Recent expansion of onion acreage in other parts of the country, as well as the world, continues to put onion prices under competitive pressure with periods of oversupply on both domestic and international markets. In New York, onions are harvested from the beginning of August till the end of October and are available for sale from August until April of the following year.

Typically, about 200,000 tons of onions are produced every year on 13,000 acres of New York state farmland. A large reason for the advantage in growing cooking onions and some varieties of sweet onions is due to our mild climate, long summer and muck soils. The counties of Genesee, Orleans and Monroe produce about 25 percent of the crop, with most of the crop being planted on muck soils.

Muck soils were developed in depressions of old glacial swamps from wood and fibrous plant remains. Typically, these soils have a high available water capacity with a seasonally high water table. Consequently, these soils tend to have prolonged wetness and rapid decomposition. Muck soils are shallow to deep ranging anywhere from 1 to 30 feet deep, but are limited by poor drainage. When adequate drainage is provided, "muck" is one of the most productive soils in New York and is well suited to onions and other specialized vegetables.