
October 28, 2016
CapitalPress.com
5
Idaho-Eastern Oregon region
produced more, bigger onions in 2016
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Water floods a farm field in the Chehalis River Basin in southwest-
ern Washington. A study by the Washington Department of Ecology
looks at ways to minimize flooding damage in the area. The options
include building a dam or buying out farms.
Ecology weighs flood-control
options for Chehalis River
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
A Washington Department
of Ecology report on mini-
mizing damage from massive
floods in the Chehalis River
Basin considers two main op-
tions — build a dam or move
farms to higher ground.
The study, which is be-
ing circulated for public
comment, stems from major
floods in 2007 and 2009. High
water closed businesses and
Interstate 5 at Chehalis and
damaged farms, particularly
in Lewis County.
Since then, local and state
officials have searched for
ways to reduce flooding while
also enhancing fish runs.
A panel appointed by the
governor recommended in
2014 building a dam on the
Chehalis River. The Quinault
Indian Nation proposed let-
ting the river spread out.
Ecology studied both op-
tions, along with ideas such as
constructing walls along I-5,
and raising levees and build-
ings.
Ecology’s report estimates
the dam and associated proj-
ects would cost $601 million
to $1.2 billion.
The alternative that in-
cludes buying and relocating
farms that now occupy as
many as 12,100 acres would
cost $1.4 billion to $1.7 bil-
lion.
To keep farming in the
area, growers would have
to move to steep and forest-
ed land with unsuitable soil,
Lewis County farmer Dave
Fenn said.
“Basically, it’s totally im-
practical,” he said.
Ecology’s program man-
ager, Chrissy Bailey, said the
agency undertook the study at
the request of the governor’s
work group. Ecology hasn’t
decided whether it will make
its own recommendation, she
said.
“We understand people’s
concerns and reaction,” Bai-
ley said. “This is not some-
thing that would happen with-
out landowner willingness on
a broad scale.”
Lewis County farmers pro-
duced $132 million worth of
crops and livestock, accord-
ing to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s 2012 census.
Fenn said a shrinking farm
economy could affect growers
who stay.
“What happens if half the
people are willing to sell and
half aren’t? What happens
to the half who aren’t?” he
asked. “The impact to (farm)
suppliers might be severe.”
Ron Averill, the legislative
chairman of the Lewis County
Farm Bureau, said it was good
that Ecology held the propos-
al up for scrutiny.
“What farmer is going to
move to where he would have
the wrong soil and no water
rights?” Averill asked. “Need-
less to say, the Farm Bureau
is not happy about the alter-
native.”
NYSSA, Ore. — Onion
yields and sizes in the Ida-
ho-Eastern Oregon growing
region were both bigger than
normal this year.
Prices, however, are down
near break-even for the 300
growers who produce roughly
25 percent of all the Spanish
bulb onions consumed in the
United States.
“We had a very good grow-
ing season and we had some
good yields; quality looked
very good and size is larger
than normal,” said Snake River
Produce Manager Kay Riley.
Riley said the result is a
larger-than-average crop that
has led to depressed prices at
the moment, a situation exac-
erbated by a strong U.S. dollar
and weak export market.
Bulb onion prices are off
close to 50 percent from this
time last year and are near the
break-even price for farmers,
he said.
Onion growers in the Trea-
sure Valley region of Eastern
Oregon and southwestern Idaho
are under a federal marketing
order and produce more than 1
billion pounds of bulb onions
each year, making this the na-
tion’s largest onion-growing
region in terms of volume.
About 90 percent of the
bulb onions grown in this area
are yellows, while the rest are
red and white varieties. Harvest
usually begins in August and is
mostly complete by the end of
October.
There are 36 packing sheds
in the valley and the industry’s
annual economic impact is esti-
mate at about $1.3 billion, mak-
ing onions the backbone of the
region’s economy.
Onion acres were close to
20,000 this year and produc-
tion is about 10 percent more
than last year, said Riley, mar-
keting order chairman of the
Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion
Committee.
Growing conditions this
Photos by Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Bulb onions dry in a southwestern Idaho field Sept. 15. The 2016 Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion crop
was larger than normal and quality was excellent, according to farmers and industry leaders.
year were superb and as a re-
sult, the area produced an un-
usually large amount of super
colossals, the biggest bulb on-
ion size.
“The crop is looking really
good,” said Nyssa grower Paul
Skeen, president of the Mal-
heur County Onion Growers
Association. “The one negative
12-month waiver
is that they’re actually too big.
We have more super colossals
than normal and less jumbos
and mediums because of that.
We may have a shortage of me-
diums and jumbos.”
The season got off to an
early start, growing conditions
were ideal and the oppressive
heat that affected the crop the
3 Years @ 0%
past two years skipped 2016,
said Stuart Reitz, an Oregon
State University cropping sys-
tems extension agent in Mal-
heur County.
“Those onions just got big-
ger and bigger,” he said. “It was
a good growing season so the
onions naturally are big.”
Reitz said onion sizes were
so big that a farmers coopera-
tive in the area held a “biggest
onion” contest this year and
a lot of 3- pound onions were
brought in. Super colossals are
typically 1.5 to 2 pounds.
“There were some big ones
out there, he said.
The good news, he added, is
that quality is excellent. “There
are some really nice looking
onions out there.”
5 Years @ 0.9%
OAC
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