Overview

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS.

Total U.S. onion production in 2007 was 79.4 million cwt, and the value of the crop was $840 million. The USDA reports that the 2007 crop of fresh market onions was valued at $334 million, while that year's crop of storage onions was valued at $506 million. In terms of vegetable production, onions are one of the three largest crops; the other two are head lettuce and watermelons. In terms of value, onions are one of the three most highly valued vegetable crops; the other two are head lettuce and tomatoes.  July 2009 ... Onions


Marketing

• Commodities Models, National Food and Agricultural Policy Report (NFAPR), Arizona State University - Consumption and price trends for U.S. fruits and vegetables, including onions.
  
• Fresh Vegetable Market Tables, ERS, USDA.
• Georgia Vidalia Industry 2002, Vidalia Onion Grower Revenue Losses in 2002; Policy Briefing Paper NFAPP #02-02, National Food and Agricultural Policy Center - This paper analyzes the likely path of Vidalia onion shipments during the 2002 shipping season, assesses how the change in volume affects onion prices and grower revenue and then evaluates how projected grower revenue compares to previous years in order to estimate likely changes to 2002 cash receipts.
• Market News Reports, USDA, FOB shipping information - The USDA's News service reports on changes in produce markets. This link is specifically for potato and onion information.
• National Onion Association (NOA) - A membership organization that specializes in promotion, education and other services pertaining to the growing and marketing of onions.
• Onion Marketing Orders, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA.
• Onion Produce Facts, Postharvest Technology Research Information Center, University of California, Davis, updated 2006.
• Onion Production, Agricultural Alternatives, Penn State, 2000  - Marketing section of this site discusses the four basic marketing alternatives that are available to the onion grower: wholesale markets, cooperatives, local retailers and roadside stands.
  
• Onion World magazine - Voice of the onion industry.
• Produce Marketing Association (PMA): Storage Onions - This site has a searchable database with information on storage onions and fresh onions, and has news items on issues related to supply, demand, marketing, nutrition and food safety. Founded in 1949, the PMA is a not-for-profit global trade association serving more than 2,400 members who market fresh fruits, vegetables and related products and services worldwide. Its members are involved in the production, distribution, retail and foodservice sectors of the industry.
• United Fresh Produce Association - Industry advocacy group that has information on government legislation and related business information. United is the national trade organization that represents the interests of growers, shippers, processors, brokers, wholesalers and distributors of produce, working together with their customers at retail and foodservice, suppliers at every step in the distribution chain and international partners.
  
• Vegetables and Melons, ERS, USDA.
• Walla Walla Sweet Onion Organization

Processing/Manufacturing

• Gills Onions - Example of an integrated producer, processor and marketer. This company markets fresh onions, bulk-processed onions, purees, food service and specialty products.
• Why Can’t Vidalia Onions Be Grown in Iowa? Developing a Branded Agricultural Product, Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and Information Center (MATRIC) Briefing Paper, Iowa State University, 2002 - Vidalia onions are an example of how responding to consumer demand with a succession of marketing, legislative and research events has protected a niche market from becoming oversupplied by producers. And, by protecting the name, quality and image of an agricultural product through state ownership of the trademark, higher values are realized throughout the marketing chain.

 Production

• Dehydrator Bulb Onion Production in California, University of California - Available in Spanish.
• Dry-bulb Onions, Vegetables and Melons Outlook, ERS, USDA, 2003.
• Fresh-market Bulb Onion Production in California
• Fresh Onion Production Information, University of California Vegetable Research Information Center - Production and marketing fact sheets on dehydrator bulb and fresh onion varieties. Includes post-harvest procedures and production cost models.
• Green Onion Production in California
  
• Onion and Garlic, Integrated Pest Management guidelines, University of California, Davis.
• Onion Market Reports, Texas Department of Agriculture - National markets and state production information for onions.
• Onions, Vegetables, NASS, USDA, 2008.
• Onions, Vegetable Crop Budgets, Southwest Florida Research & Education Center.
• Onions, VegNet, Colorado State University.
• USDA Terminal Prices for Onions - Terminal prices at fifteen major U.S. cities.
• USDA Wholesale Prices - These reports are the daily wholesale and shipping prices for a number of major cities.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Basin Gold Cooperative - A group of companies in Eastern Washington and Oregon that specializes in the sale and marketing of fresh potatoes and onions. This marketing cooperative was formed to provide their customers with a quality source of produce on a year-round basis as well as improve customer service. Of the member companies, nearly all are involved in the growing, packing and shipping of fresh market onions and potatoes on a national scale. The members alternate and stagger their packing and shipping times throughout the winter and following spring to fill customer orders, as well as maintain enough product in storage to maintain shipments until the next summer harvest.
• Bridge International Marketing - Example of a large-scale distributor offering several different frozen and semi-processed onion products.
• Demand Grows for Rare Onions - Alligator River Growers is a husband and wife mail-order business that specializes in direct marketing specialty onions produced on 100-acre fields that yield 40,000 pounds of sweet onions labeled and sold as “Mattamuskeet Sweet Onions." See their Web page at http://www.alligatorrivergrowers.com/.
• Oklahoma Candy Onion Production: Projected Net Income, Price Risk and Yield Risk, Oklahoma State University, 2004 - This potential large-scale niche onion production operation was evaluated as an alternative to cattle, forage and grain production.
• Testa Produce - Example of a broad-line distributor that produces value-added products (special-cut, frozen, canned and specialty products). They market many specialty varieties of onions.
• Texas Onion Production History - Texas' leading vegetable crop. Onion sales bring the state between $70 and $100 million per year, and the onion industry has an overall impact of about $350 million per year on the Texas economy.
• Zappala Family Builds on Growing Taste for Mild, Sweet Onions - Zappala Farms is one of the larger onion producers in New York state. The farm specializes in the sweet variety, with an annual onion production volume of 250,000 40-pound boxes of sweet onions that are marketed under the “Empire Sweet” brand. Zappala Farms just opened up a processing plant called Empire Fresh-Cuts that will produce and market a line of fresh-processed sweet onion products.

Links checked May 2009.