Nation's onion farmers struggle with loss of customers due to pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla., April 23 (UPI) -- Onion farmers around the United States destroyed crops or struggled to complete harvests in the past two weeks after many regular customers closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Growers in Oregon destroyed millions of pounds of onions, while those in Texas said they were close to harvest time with half their normal buyers, and had to leave crops in the field.

In Georgia, Vidalia onion growers said they still had retail customers, but workers were slowed by isolation restrictions. They continued to harvest, but with much higher costs.

And onion growers everywhere anxiously awaited more details about how to apply for government aid.

"I wake up every day thinking, what do I do?" said Steve Cargil, owner of Cargil Farms Produce, which is about 90 miles west of San Antonio, Texas. "There's always a little anxiety when you approach harvest, but I'm not sure if it's even worth opening up the harvest this year.

"I will have no choice but to leave much of it in the field if something doesn't change soon," Cargil said.

Cargil said he grows onions on 350 acres, with almost half his crop sold to food service buyers, hotels and restaurants which were ordered to close in March

Onion grower Shay Myers in western Oregon said he dug trenches and buried 4 million pounds that were nearing the end of their storage time in the last two weeks.

"This region, the Snake River Valley, is hit hard because we grow primarily for food service, and that market dried up when everything closed," said Myers, the CEO of Owyhee Produce.

"We've tried to find other buyers. We sent some for cattle feed and some to food banks, but there are no other options," Myers said.

He said demand spiked in March as shoppers stocked up to stay home, but retail sales have dropped to 25 percent of normal in recent weeks.

The Greeley, Colo.-based National Onion Association is trying to speed obtaining government money for its members, said Rene Hardwick, the group's director of public and industry relations.

"We're looking for ways to help our onion farmers, and we're hoping we can get some of the money from the stimulus through the USDA soon," Hardwick said. "Food service is about half our market, and that was just gone overnight."

The Trump administration said Friday that $2.7 billion would go to the fruit and vegetable industry to help cover some of the overwhelming losses related to the pandemic. That support is divided, with $2.1 billion allocated for direct payment to growers and $100 million per month for the next six months for produce purchases.

The funds are to come from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act, which President Trump signed into law March 27.

In Georgia, the Vidalia onion region began their harvests during the pandemic. Since most Vidalia onions are sold at stores, growers there still have buyers, said Delbert Bland, the owner of Bland Farms. But other unexpected costs came into play.

"Our biggest challenge is keeping the labor force safe. We have had an additional expense of about $70,000 a week" for masks, food deliveries and other safety measures, said Bland, who grows about on about 3,000 acres in the region.

He said his farm normally provides transportation to grocery stores so workers can shop, but now he also delivers groceries to keep workers from coronavirus exposure.

"We don't want them mixing with the community, or each other, so we have isolated them into groups of 20," Bland said.

The prospect of some government aid to farmers did not satisfy industry leaders.

The United Fresh Produce Association, an agriculture lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., said in a statement Saturday that the CARES Act funding was a good start -- but not enough.

"The funds available to agriculture are simply inadequate to keep our industry strong into the future," said Tom Stenzel, the United Fresh president and CEO.