MONTROSE COUNTY — The nice and cozy late October sunshine introduced luck to farmers working lengthy hours to reap Colorado’s final main row crop of the yr with a deadline to make crimson, yellow and white onions out there for Thanksgiving recipes and Christmas dinner tables throughout the nation.
Colorado is likely one of the largest producers of onions by quantity within the U.S., due partially to state’s ideally suited local weather for rising and storing the kitchen staple all through the autumn and winter months.
In Montrose County, the specter of fall freezing temperatures, mixed with the deadline for overseas labor to return to Mexico, has elevated the push to show a whole lot of acres of onions right into a bagged commodity, prepared for transport to markets throughout Colorado and the USA.
“The onions are doing very nicely this yr, we’re behind getting them in, however the good Lord has given us an enormous window to complete up with out issues. We’re all happy that we’re getting this sort of October,” mentioned John Harold, who along with his son, David, is one among about six giant onion producers on the Western Slope.
Onion farmer David Harold appears slightly below the highest layer of soil for indicators of onion seedling development in Might 2023.
ABOVE: Onion farmer David Harold appears slightly below the highest layer of soil for indicators of onion seedling development in Might 2023.
A employee walks behind a big mechanical harvester crossing a subject of yellow onions, kicking up particles from a subject on Oct. 20.
BELOW: A employee walks behind a big mechanical harvester crossing a subject of yellow onions, kicking up particles from a subject on Oct. 20.
This time final yr, Harold mentioned his employees have been “balls to the partitions,” with solely hours to spare between 7 million and eight million kilos of onions harvested and a number of days of onerous freeze.
Onions can deal with a bit frost, however far more past that and the crop might be too broken to reap.
Harold, whose firm Tuxedo Corn grows the favored Olathe Candy model candy corn, this yr expects to maneuver 8.5 million kilos of onions from 200 acres of soil into baggage and storage amenities, which works out to about 42,500 kilos per acre.
Onions are normally planted starting in late March via mid-April and harvested starting in late September and into October.
“It’s been a protracted season, but it surely wanted to be as a result of we had a late spring,” Harold mentioned.
Dozens of onions are seen in a mirrored image on the glasses of a employee in an onion subject close to Falcon Highway close to Olathe.
Staff type rocks from onions as they’re harvested from a subject.
Farmer John Harold watches as freshly harvested crimson onions are bagged at a sorting facility in Olathe on Oct. 16.
ABOVE: Dozens of onions are seen in a mirrored image on the glasses of a employee in an onion subject close to Falcon Highway close to Olathe. MIDDLE: Staff type rocks from onions as they’re harvested from a subject. BELOW: Farmer John Harold watches as freshly harvested crimson onions are bagged at a sorting facility on Oct. 16.
In keeping with the Nationwide Onion Affiliation, farmers in the USA plant roughly 125,000 acres of onions annually and produce about 6.75 billion kilos of onions yearly. Colorado’s larger altitude and colder winter months hold insect and plant illnesses at bay, thereby decreasing pesticide use and guaranteeing high-quality onions, in keeping with Colorado State College.
This yr David Harold put in miles of drip irrigation tubing in some onion fields as a approach to make use of water extra effectively. The drip irrigation system was imported from abroad and is designed to place every water drop immediately onto the seedling because it matures right into a bulb onion plant. Because the seeds started to sprout in early Might, David was out on his fingers and knees each day to ensure the delicate onion seedlings have been rising as they need to.
David mentioned the fields with drip irrigation didn’t carry out in addition to he would have preferred, however added he’s open to the thought of attempting once more to see whether or not drip irrigation may be included within the operation long run. After all, including something into the rising course of solely cuts into the already skinny revenue margins farmers just like the Harolds face on an annual foundation.
Again beneath the nice and cozy fall sunshine, employees harvest by both bagging the onions into retired 50-pound burlap espresso baggage or by utilizing a big mechanical harvester that’s pulled behind a tractor. The harvester makes use of a conveyor system to elevate the onions from the soil and right into a truck. Staff on high of the machine work to drag rocks from stepping into the onion stream.
From time to time rocks will jam contained in the machine bringing manufacturing to a halt. Generally the stoppage is for 5 minutes, different instances, these breakdowns can final for hours. Time is a commodity the Harolds don’t have a lot of as all their employees from Mexico are days away from returning residence.
As soon as the truck is full, the onions are then shipped to Harold’s sorting shed.
Staff type rocks from onions as they circulate from a truck right into a storage facility.
ABOVE: Staff type rocks from onions as they circulate from a truck right into a storage facility.
Farmer John Harold walks previous baggage containing 50-pounds of yellow onions.
BELOW: Farmer John Harold walks previous baggage containing 50-pounds of yellow onions.
“It’s going to be a decent squeeze to get all of it executed earlier than the labor heads again to Mexico,” John Harold mentioned. “Hopefully we’ll end up round (October) 28, 29, then they’ve 10 days to get residence. After the thirty first they will’t work anymore.”
Simply as shortly as they’re harvested, pallets of 50-pound baggage are loaded onto vans for cargo throughout the nation. The Harolds will hold about 7 million kilos of their storage facility to be shipped all through the winter. Colorado storage onions are typically harvested and shipped from September via March, with different specialty varieties out there seasonally.
David Harold mentioned the corporate will work via the storage of onions till about March, then the entire course of will begin once more.
Most onions produced by the Harolds are certain for restaurant suppliers who purchase and ship hundreds of thousands of kilos of onions across the nation. However many they develop will probably find yourself in vacation recipes on dinner tables throughout the USA.
Story and images by William Woody, Particular to The Colorado Solar.
