By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s Vidalia onions are harvested for the 2022 season. Growers are ‘happy’ with the results, says Bob Stafford, manager of the Vidalia Onion Committee. Most of their contentment stems from a dry spring, meaning less potential disease pressure for this year’s crop.
“It was kind of an awkward start, but it cranked up and we had a good year. We had one of the best harvest seasons we’ve ever had,” Stafford said. “The weather was dry. We were able to get in and get our crop out. It’s pretty well out of the field by now. We had good weather for that. We’re happy with the quality, we’ve got a good quality crop. We’re very happy with that.”
The Southeast Georgia region where Vidalia onions are grown continues through a prolonged drought. Most of the region is in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. But that allowed for less disease pressure in storage for growers to have to be concerned with.
“We didn’t have to worry about that this year. We’ve got an ample supply in storage. We got them in there with no rain on them. We’re very fortunate,” Stafford said. “The market is decent. It should be higher, but it’s decent.
“I think the way it looks now, I’m hearing happy folks.”
