American grower dumps large amount of onions

While dairy farmers are forced to wash away their milk, many farmers in the United States see no option but to destroy their crops. An onion grower has dumped almost 500 tons of onions.

With restaurants, hotels and schools locked down, millions of pounds of fresh produce have become unsaleable in the US. Major producers see no option but to destroy their products. For example, an Idaho farmer dug huge trenches to bury nearly 500 tons of onions. That reports the New York Times.

Earlier there were reports that dairy farmers were forced to give their milk let walk away† The nation's largest dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America, estimates that farmers dump 3,7 million gallons of milk every day. A similar scene can be seen in the cultivation of vegetables and arable crops. Fields with cabbage and beans, among other things, are plowed. In the poultry industry, large quantities of unhatched eggs are destroyed.

No buyers
The closure of the catering industry has caused a huge drop in demand and the peak sales in retail as a result of increased home consumption cannot absorb this. As a result, some farmers no longer have buyers for more than half of their crops. “People don't make 'onion rings' at home”, onion grower Shay Myers illustrates the situation in the country. 

The onion grower in the state of Idaho has dug trenches that are now full of large piles of unusable onions. “There is always some overproduction, but not to the extent we are dealing with now,” says Myers, who therefore sees no other option than dumping. “Composting the onions and returning them to the fields as fertilizer is an option, but it is extremely expensive.” 

In the meantime, a lively discussion is arising in America as to why fresh products are dumped and not donated to, for example, the food bank. Myers explains: “That also means incurring even more costs, including for packaging and transport. And that without generating any income.” In addition, food banks struggle with limited cooling space for the fresh products and insufficient volunteers to absorb everything and distribute it among the population.

Stop onion flow from Mexico
The best thing the government can do now is to stop importing products that America has in stock itself. Myers: “We have enough onions to feed the American population. Meanwhile, a flow of products from Mexico continues to flow due to the current exchange rate. Closing the border for onions from Mexico would be a good guideline.”

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

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