5-23 IAN Onions

 Onion plantings expected to be up this year. I know last year a lot of onion growing friends of mine did pretty well.

 The 2011 growing season for onions is now in full swing and the USDA’s national agricultural statistics service will spend the first two weeks of June finding out who planted what through a survey of farmers. During this agricultural survey, producers are contacted by mail, phone or even a personal visit. They are asked to provide information on the total acreage, acres planted to  specific commodities including bio-tech varieties, and quantities of grains and oilseeds stored on the farm. I asked NASS spokesperson Vince Matthews what he could tell me regarding intentions for onions. “What we have for intentions with onions is 9500 acres which is up 3% from what we had in 2010 and up 6% from 2009, in Oregon 9500 acres which is up 2% from last year. So it’s not a big shift.