Georgia's Vidalia onion harvest bigger than expected

The harvest of Vidalia onions is in full swing and farmers and their crews have fields ripe with onions when they initially weren't sure what they were going to have any this year.

One farmer said it is the second best crop he's seen in the decades he's been growing the world famous onion. He says the mild weather let the onions start growing sooner and develop. A two-day freeze in March didn't hurt them like it did other crops. He says this crop came after months of uncertainty.

"So far, we seem to have the second nicest crop we've ever had, with huge yields and great quality," said Alan Sikes, Sikes Farms when interviewed by Wtoc. "We really don't know what a normal season is like anymore. It's either really warm or really cold. This warm weather made us worry we'd get molding or seed stems or something like that."

This year onions have decreased in total acreage but onions planted per acre has increased which makes harvesting by hand slower. "One downside to this crop is, yes, prices are very low, so you've got to work twice as hard to make enough money to keep going," Sikes said.

source: wtoc.com