Ag News

Vidalia Onions to ship April 22

by Georgia Department of Agriculture

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The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee announced that the pack date for the 2019 Vidalia Onion season is April 22.

Each year, the Vidalia Onion Advisory Panel, state agricultural scientists and the Department of Agriculture set the pack date based on soil and weather conditions in South Georgia during the growing season to help ensure only the highest-quality onions are shipped to stores across the country. A total of 9,356 acres of Vidalia onions were hand-planted in 2018 to be harvested in the coming weeks, according to Troy Bland, chairman of the Vidalia Onion Committee.

This year, the Vidalia Onion Committee is launching “The Sweet Life”, a new marketing campaign to reach home cooks across the country. The campaign targets grocery shoppers who enjoy cooking and entertaining.

“The Sweet Life builds on our very successful marketing effort over the last two years that helped to raise the profile of the Vidalia onion among food connoisseurs, particularly millennials who set many of today’s consumer trends,” said Bland. “Now we plan to focus on broader category of consumers who like to cook, entertain and use onions. The goal is to elevate the brand as a signifier of good taste and living well.”

Vidalia onions represent about 40 percent of the sweet onion market in the country and are sold in every state. The Vidalia trademark is owned by the state of Georgia because of the Vidalia Onion Act of 1986. To be considered a Vidalia onion, the vegetables must be cultivated in the 20-county approved growing region from a distinctive seed and packed and sold after the official pack date each year, resulting in only the highest-quality onions reaching consumers each season.

More information about Vidalia onions can be found at www.vidaliaonion.org,  and updates on this season’s news will be shared on Vidalia Onion Committee’s social media accounts.

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