New Mexico onion shipments should be in good volume this summer with shippers optimistic about good quality and sizing, although acreage and yields may be lower than last season.
Shiloh Produce Inc., of Hatch, NM reported shipments hit good in late May and accelerated in early June.
Onion shipments will continue until August or early September, yellow onions accounting for about 70 percent of the New Mexico volume, with reds and white onion accounting for the balance.
A majority of the growers for ProSource Inc. of Hailey, ID are located in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico, where shipments got underway in late May.
The company report truck supplies have been better this season.
Desert Springs Produce, Arrey, N.M., reports having similar acreage to last year, but believes overall statewide acreage down slightly from a year ago.
Barker Produce, Las Cruces, N.M., reports the company’s acreage is down about 100 acres and yields also are expected to be down compared to the past couple of years. The firm should ship onion though about September 10th.
Acreage Trends
Over the past 25 years, onion acreage in New Mexico has ranged from a high of 9,195 acres in 1997 to low of 5,457 acres in 2012, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
In 2017, the census pegged New Mexico onion acreage at 6,915.
New Mexico harvested area of onions in 2018 totaled 6,500 acres, according to the USDA crop statistics.
That was off 8 percent from New Mexico’s harvested area of 2017 from 7,100 acres but up 7 percent from 6,100 acres in 2016.