A combination of a warm winter, rainy spring and throwing in a few hail storms and tornadoes to boot, will mean fewer Georgia vegetable shipments this season. Although Georgia is shipping some type of veggie the year around, mid-May to mid-June is when heaviest volume occurs.
The weather factors will probably reduce Vidalia onion volume as much as 20 percent, although a better handle on losses will come when harvest is complete.
Baker Farms of Norman Park in southwestern Georgia has kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, collards, turnip roots, beet roots, chard, cilantro, cabbage and broccoli. Although Baker Farms grows veggies year-round, it spring shipments will be less, primarily due to excessive rains.
A&M Farms of Lyons, GA will have a 15 to 20 less volume with its Vidalia onions.
Generations Farms of Vidalia, Ga., was hit by hail in April which damaged a few fields, causing a loss of about 85 acres, or 10 percent of its Vidalia onion crop.
Shuman Farms of Reidsville, GA reports the Vidalia onion industry will see lower yields per acre compared to the past three to four years, as well as a smaller size profile.
Corbett Bros. Farms of Lake Park, GA, which is part of the Grower Network, had some tornado damage in mid- to late April. The farm, located in the southern-central part of Georgia close to the Florida border, produces cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplants, hot peppers and citrus.
Georgia watermelon shipments, which rank fourth nationally in volume, get underway in early June, with peak loadings coming by June 20th. The state averages over 18,000 acres of harvested watermelon each year. Other top watermelon-shipping states are Texas, Florida and California.
Vidalia onions – grossing about $2600 to Chicago and New York City.