US (WA): Onion harvest a success despite labor shortage
Nature cooperated with warm summer weather, which Pasco grower Kerrick Bauman said helps the quality of his yellow onion crop.
And demand was steady for Walla Walla Sweet onions, which grower Mike Locati said he has come to expect over the past 10 years.
There were challenges, though, such as the storms that swept through the area during the summer and some fields going to seed too early and some onions maturing too early.
But growers say their biggest looming issue is if they will be able to find workers to care and harvest onion crops in the future.
"What gets me is we're in one of the biggest unemployment cycles in our history and we can't get enough people to harvest our crops," said Locati, who just recently finished harvesting his 42 acres of Walla Walla Sweets.
Source: tri-cityherald.com
