Vidalia onions to ship starting April 27

ATLANTA — This year’s edition of one of Georgia’s signature specialty crops — Vidalia onions — will begin shipping out on April 27, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black announced Thursday.

Black said he was following the recommendation of the Vidalia Onion Advisory Panel, a group of 16 growers of the sweet onion, which met at the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Ga.

“The meeting was very productive,” said panel Chairman Bo Herndon, who owns Herndon Farms. “All members of the panel were represented and I believe we came to the best possible outcome. “

Growers settled on the marketing date after discussion focused on historical and scientific data regarding maturity, this year’s weather impacts and market opportunity. Any Vidalia onions shipped before April 27 must undergo a federal-state inspection to certify that those onions meet the established grade requirements and are under “Positive Lot Identification” as approved by the Federal-State Inspection Service. Baby Vidalia onions with greens attached may also be shipped earlier in the season.

Growers say shipping onions too early can hurt the brand.

“The worst thing we can do is start too early,” said Brett McLain of McLain Farms. “In the past, we’ve done just that and have shipped immature onions and it has just about ruined our industry. And that is what we have been working with the commissioner to avoid, and I think this date will help us accomplish that.”

The later date will allow for more inspection to assure the quality and maturity of the onions meets marketing standards, officials said.

“In the past we’ve had quite a few problems while inspecting the early onions, and some growers have had to throw away quite a few onions due to immaturity” said Mike Sutton with the Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service. “With last year’s later pack date, we didn’t have near the immaturity issues, and the overall quality of the early onions was the best we’ve seen.”

After hearing from the growers, Black concurred with their recommendation.

“We are pleased to once again work with our growers in the setting of this date to bring consumers the quality and unique taste of the Vidalia onion brand that they expect and deserve,” Black said.

Vidalia onions, prized for their sweetness and mild flavor, are unique to Georgia. Onions bearing the label can only be grown in parts of a 20-county area in the southeastern part of Georgia.

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Georgia farmers harvested 258 million pounds of the specialty crop grown on 11,000 acres in 2014. Value of production for last year’s crop exceeded $108 million, ag officials said.