Peri & Sons Farms' Jessica Peri Discusses State of the Onion Market
YERINGTON, NV - Out in the onion fields of Yerington, Nevada, it’s calm…too calm. But like the eerie silence blanketing a long winter freeze, the composed landscape often paints a deceptive picture of what’s to come—like a sudden snow flurry or, say, a holiday shopping scramble. As I chatted with Jessica Peri, Retail Sales Manager, one cold October morning, I got the impression that Peri & Sons Farms is facing a similar scene to the above mentioned as it awaits the expected craziness of the winter holidays.
“Harvest is wrapped up, with no major issues to report. We don’t have this season’s crop fully in storage just yet, but we’re getting close. Everything looks good: quality, yields, and sizing—except for the fact that business hasn’t quite kicked in yet since Thanksgiving is later this year,” Jessica shared with me. “There’s a lot of supply, but not enough demand. I’m looking forward to demand picking up in the next couple of weeks, which will give pricing a lift as well.”
Like a dining room prepped for a Thanksgiving meal, Peri & Sons Farms has everything immaculately in place for a great onion season. In addition to good quality, yields, and sizing, Jessica revealed that the grower recently increased its acreage, which resulted in more onions ready to market this year than last.
Even the weather hasn’t thrown a wrench into Peri & Sons Farms’ season. Jessica noted that the company just experienced its first cold spell, but it is too early to tell if it will have any effect on the onions. This is partly because Peri & Sons Farms hand-harvests its onions, meaning the current onions in the field are in burlap sacks—i.e. they’re exposed to the cold but have an extra layer of protection. This, Jessica explained, will help the grower’s supply and market stay steady once the holiday season officially ramps up.
“While the market isn’t very active at the moment, we’re expecting to not experience a slowdown until February. In a week or two, Thanksgiving shopping will pick up, followed by the winter holiday demand, then the health and wellness push in January. Since we’re already at those high levels of production, we’re not going backwards and will instead stay pretty steady until well into February,” Jessica said.
And the holidays aren’t the only thing Peri & Sons Farms is celebrating this winter. This year, the company also rang in its 40th anniversary via a brand refresh and the launch of a new consumer awareness program for Nevada Whites™.
“Our white onions are what we’re known for, so it was a natural fit to introduce a new program,” Jessica noted, before concluding: “We’re also doing special promotions through the holidays. A few of our popular varieties like our Sunions and Sweetie Sweets are joining the holiday fun and experiencing good growth, so we’re excited about that this season, as well.”
As that deceptively calm onion landscape breaks into sweet holiday chaos—the good kind that means shoppers are buying the crucial variety in droves—AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the state of the market.
