New York’s onion crop for 2003 is forecast at 4.01 million hundredweight (cwt.), up 42 percent from last year’s crop of 2.83 million cwt., according to the New York Agricultural Statistics Service. Even though this is a big increase from 2002, this year’s production is five percent below the 4.22 million cwt. produced in 2001. Planting this year was late due to wet weather in the spring. A hot spell in July adversely affected plants. Some farmers began irrigating until heavy rains came in August. Overall, quality of onions are good but onion sizes are small. Harvest was late getting underway and progress has lagged.

U.S. summer storage onion production is forecast at 48.5 million hundredweight, up 3 percent from last year. Harvested area is forecast at 103,680 acres, virtually unchanged from 2002. The yield is up 15 cwt from last year at 468 hundredweight per acre. The California crop is mostly progressing well with some areas behind due to cool spring weather. Crop conditions range from normal to good. There were a few reports of decay in some locations. Harvest has progressed well and was complete in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley by mid-September. The processing portion of the storage crop is in good condition. Colorado conditions have been favorable this season. Hail damage was below average and irrigation water supplies were adequate. Harvest continues to progress ahead of schedule under excellent conditions. In Idaho, yields are down and bulb size is smaller due to hot and dry conditions during the growing season. In addition, some acreage was damaged by hail in late July. As of September 22, three quarters of the onion crop has been harvested. Michigan's onion crop progressed well at the beginning of the growing season, however, localized heavy rains during August caused some disease problems. Growers reported good yields and quality as harvest progressed steadily under dry conditions. Minnesota experienced dry weather during August and early September, but recent rains improved soil conditions. Excellent quality and good yields are expected. Ohio growers have experienced wet weather and cool temperatures. Oregon's harvest is at its peak and should finish by early October. Yields are down due to a severe hail storm during the last week of July causing the complete loss of some fields. In addition, yields have been affected by heat stress and unavailability of water during critical times. Utah's summer was hot and dry which has reduced bulb size and yields. Quality of the crop is good with minimal disease problems reported. Harvest in Washington is progressing. Hot and dry conditions during the summer caused smaller bulb size. Overall quality is average to good. Wisconsin growers report an above average crop despite dry conditions this year. Pest and disease problems are minimal.