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While organic onions make up only a small percentage of the popular Vidalia crop production, volume is up this year with steady supplies available through August.
Giumarra announced last month that in partnership with G&R Farms of Glenville, GA, it would have organic onions for the first time. “We know that organics are of growing importance to consumers, and we are excited to offer our customers an organic option for this summer favorite,” said Kristina Loruss of Giumarra.
Kristina Loruss of Giumarra
Bland Farms, also based in Glennville, markets about 50 percent of Vidalia’s production and is shipping a larger supply of organic onions this year as it moves closer to offering the item on a year-round basis.
After receiving the “Grower of The Year” award from the Vidalia Onion Committee, Bland Farm agronomist Omar Cruz told OPN he is very excited about this year’s organic crop.
“We are trying to get better at producing organic onions every year. Onions are a difficult crop to grow in South Georgia. There are tremendous challenges. We are the only place that grows winter onions in this kind of weather,” Cruz said.
Omar Cruz of Bland Farm
Organic onion production doesn’t have the same number and set of tools to combat pests and diseases that conventionally grown products have available, Cruz said. Additionally, reduced yields and increased hand labor needs for weeding create major challenges in producing organic onions.
Cruz, however, remains optimistic about this year’s crop. “We had six inches of snow this year, and it looks like the organic fields came through it better than the conventional onions,” he said.
Cruz believes this could be a result of the organic fields not exposed to herbicides and other harsh chemicals, and subsequently able to better cope with the stress of the extreme cold temperatures. He said his field team is getting better at producing organically each year, leading to increased production.
Bland Farms also sources organic onions from Peru from August into January as its organic farms in that South American country are also seeing increases in production. “In February and March, we aren’t offering organics at this point, but we are working on it,” Cruz said.
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The Vidalia Grower of the Year also noted the environmental benefits of growing onions organically. While organic onion production does sell at a premium, and yields can be cut in half, Cruz said he finds additional motivation in growing organically to meet increased consumer demand and produce in a more environmentally-friendly way.
Speaking of his award, he expressed gratitude to his employer as well as his colleagues in the industry. “I was not expecting it,” said Cruz. “I appreciate what the committee did—I put my heart into these crops. I love the Bland family and each of these growers because they have all touched my life.”
Cruz earned his degree in agronomy from the University of Havana in La Habana, Cuba, and he has been farming with Bland Farms since 2005.
