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Vidalia Onions

The Vidalia onion story took root in 1931 in Toombs County, Ga., when a farmer named Coleman discovered the onions he had planted weren't hot, as he had expected, but sweet!

He sold those onions for $3.50 per 50-pound bag, a big price in those Great Depression days. Other farmers followed suit, and soon their farms were producing the sweet, mild onions.

In the 1940s, because Vidalia was at the juncture of some of south Georgia's most widely traveled highways, a farmers' market there was a thriving tourist business. Word began to spread about Vidalia onions.

Consumers, then, gave the onions their famous name. "Vidalia onions" began appearing on grocery store shelves.

Production grew at a slow but steady pace, reaching 600 total acres by the mid-'70s. Then a promotional push began to distribute Vidalia onions throughout the nation. Onion festivals became an annual event in Vidalia and nearby Glennville, and production grew tenfold over the next decade.

In 1986, Georgia passed legislation giving Vidalia onions legal status and defining the 20-county production area. The Vidalia onion was named Georgia's official state vegetable in 1990.

In 1989, Vidalia onion growers united to form Federal Marketing Order No. 955. This USDA program established the Vidalia Onion Committee, extended the definition of a Vidalia onion to the federal level and provided a way for growers to jointly fund research and promotion programs.

Beginning in 1990, technology borrowed from the apple industry was adapted to begin the controlled atmosphere (CA) storage of Vidalia onions.

Now, 125 million pounds of Vidalia onions can be put into CA storage for up to seven months, extending Vidalia onion sales into the fall holiday season.

Points of Interest

• Vidalia onion farm tours can be arranged by calling the Vidalia Onion Committee at 912/537-1918.

 

More Information

• National Onion Association
  970/353-5895
• Vidalia Onion Committee
  Director Tina Wheeler, 912/537-1918
• Georgia Fruit and Vegtable Growers Association
• Vidalia, Georgia - The Sweet Onion City
• Vidalia Onion Web

 

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