Onion World January 2026

ONION WORLD Voice of the Industry • OnionWorld.net • January 2026

NOA Convenes in Kauai

Advertiser Index Aqua Irrigation.............. 13

L&M.............................. 7

BASF - Nunhems............ 12

NOA.............................. 19

Carbon Robotics............ 3

Noffsinger..................... 8

Chinook Equipment....... 17

Redox............................ 20

Clearwater Supply......... 9

Redwood Empire........... 9

Ecorobotix..................... 11

Seed Dynamics.............. 24

Gearmore...................... 10

Seedway........................ 13

Gowan Seed.................. 17

Top Air........................... 9

Onion Imports From Mexico

JH Biotech..................... 23

Unitec........................... 17

PNVA Conference & Trade Show

Ag Tech Essentials

Table of Contents

ONION WORLD Volume 42, Number 1

January 2026

PO Box 333 Roberts, Idaho 83444 Telephone: (208) 520-6461 Circulation: (503) 724-3581

OnionWorld.net

4 NOA Convenes in Kauai

Onion World Contacts

National Onion Association Annual Convention

12 NOA Urges Consistent Inspections for Onion

Imports From Mexico

14 Ag Tech Essentials

Editor Denise Keller editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Publisher / Advertising Manager Dave Alexander dave@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Director of Operations Brian Feist brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com

Buyers' Guide

18 PNVA Packs Agenda With Timely Topics

Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference

EDITORIAL INFORMATION Onion World is interested in newsworthy material related to onion production and marketing. Contributions from all segments of the industry are welcome. Submit news releases, new product submissions, stories and photos via email to: editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com.

ADVERTISING SALES For information on rates, mechanics, deadlines, list rental, direct mail, inserts or other information, call (208) 520-6461 or email: dave@onionworld.net

SUBSCRIPTIONS U.S. $24 per year Canada $40 per year Foreign $80 per year

Subscribe online at: www.OnionWorld.net/subscribe or call (503) 724-3581.

Dylan McGowan with Gowan Seed and Jennifer England with IPL Macro share a laugh at the Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference.

Find more photos from the event on pages 18-20.

On The Cover The sun sets at the Royal Sonesta Kauai Resort, the venue for the NOA-NARC convention. Check out highlights from the meeting on pages 4-10.

DEPARTMENTS 11.... New Products 21.... Calendar 21.... In the News 22.... Advertiser Index 22.... From the NOA

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Onion World • January 2026

Email address changes/corrections to brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com or mail to: Onion World PO Box 333 Roberts, ID 83444 Onion World magazine (ISSN 0892-578X), is published eight times a year and mailed under a standard rate mailing permit at Idaho Falls, Idaho and at additional mailing offices.

Produced by Columbia Media Group PO Box 333, Roberts, ID, 83444.

Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose without the express written permission of Columbia Media Group.

For information on reprints call (208) 520-6461.

LASER WEEDING IN ONIONS Third Party Results Case studies and data collection were conducted in partnership with the University of Georgia Extension, Oregon State University, and Ag Metrics Group.

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16% MORE SINGLE CENTERS Laserweeding increased premium grade, single-center onions by 16% compared to herbicide treated onions.

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36% FIRMER ONIONS Laserweeded onions were 36% firmer than those treated with pre- and postemergent herbicides. Location: CA

45% COLOSSAL & 40% JUMBO Laserweeding produced 53.66 tons per acre, with 45% colossal and 40% jumbo grade processing onions. Location: CA

SEEDED ONIONS IN VIDALIA

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National Onion Association Annual Convention

NOA Convenes in Kauai Story by Denise Keller, Editor Photos by Denise Keller and Casey Crookham

T

he only common complaint heard at the National Onion Association’s 2025 Annual Convention – held Dec. 1-5 in Lihue, Hawaii – was that it was difficult to be in meetings with so much sun, sand and surf to enjoy outside.

As they do every other winter, the National Onion Association (NOA) and National Allium Research Conference (NARC) teamed up to host a meeting together. This brought 232 people to the island of Kauai for five days of meetings, presentations, networking and a tour of the island’s agriculture industry.

General Session

Hawaii Senate President Ronald Kouchi welcomed the group to Kauai during the general session, thanking attendees for visiting during the tourism industry’s offseason. He also mentioned that he had

been learning about onion production in preparation for his talk and was impressed with the work being done in the industry.

“It shows you the stereotypical image of who the American farmer is,” Kouchi said. “He’s somebody who’s pretty damn smart, somebody who’s up to speed on technology, and somebody who’s maximizing the property that they have and how they’re growing to get the best yield with incredible taste.”

Session attendees heard a more somber report from John Harris, president of Paradigm Fresh, who was tasked with giving an update on the onion market.

“I’ve been on the sales desk for 22 years,” Harris said. ”I have not ever seen a market quite like this one before. I feel like sometimes it’s better to be realistic

Casey Crookham (right) snaps a selfie with Kyle Bauman on the way to the next ag tour stop.

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Onion World • January 2026

Marcin Topolewski with McCain Foods slices and samples a sweet onion grown at Aloun Farms.

Robert Kanna, farm manager at Kauai Shrimp, shows off shrimp that he scooped from one of the farm’s 40 one-acre saltwater ponds.

than optimistic. I would love to stand up here and say there are some things to be optimistic about. I’m not too sure.”

Prefacing his talk with a disclaimer that his statements are not fact, but rather his opinion based on conversations and observations, Harris said the size profile of the 2025 crop is larger with fewer mediums than usual. That could be something to be optimistic about in coming months.

Quality has been inconsistent compared to other years, particularly in red onions. However, Harris is optimistic that the red onion market could improve by several dollars later in the spring. The white onion market is hanging in there, and yellows, which make up the bulk of the crop, are not fantastic, he said.

Noting that the onion market is becoming increasingly global, he said Canada is bringing onions into the U.S., and with market conditions what they are, Mexico will follow. He has heard that the cartels in Mexico have been holding back produce from crossing the border, but he doesn’t know if that will continue in the coming months.

“Despite the tough conditions, our growers are resilient and hanging tough and keeping track of storages. We’re moving as efficiently as we can, and we’ll get through this season. As these markets are, they always do rebalance

Reps from Ecorobotix (left) answer questions about the company’s ARA sprayer after demonstrating the machine in an onion field at Aloun Farms.

Gary Mayfield and Kerrick Bauman listen to discussion during the NOA’s food safety committee meeting.

Hawaii Senate President Ronald Kouchi welcomes NOA and NARC members to Kauai.

OnionWorld.net

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National Onion Association Annual Convention themselves. To rebalance that, as we go ahead in the next several years, planning ahead for the product that goes in the ground and contracting with our retailers and processors and all the planning that can be done so that the open market isn’t completely in charge of what’s going into growers’ pockets is going to be really important,” Harris said. “Let’s go into the spring and hopefully this thing will get a little better.”

Ag Tour

A group enjoys lunch during the ag tour.

Peter Rogers with BASF-Nunhems and James Woodhall with the University of Idaho grab a drink at the opening reception.

Greg Yielding, NOA executive vice president, and Rene Hardwick, NOA director of public and industry relations, pause their hosting duties to pose for a quick picture.

The convention’s ag tour took the group to Aloun Farms, one of Hawaii’s larger producers of sweet onions. Aloun Farms president and farm manager Alec Sou’s family has been farming in Hawaii since 1977 and growing sweet onions for 27 years. The farm produces about 20 crops on 2,000 acres of Kauai and Oahu and recently acquired another 1,600 acres.

As much of Oahu’s former agricultural land is being urbanized, Aloun Farms has shifted all but 600 acres of its production to Kauai. Over the years, onions have accounted for 180-400 acres of the farm’s annual production. With better land availability on Kauai, the farm can grow more and will work back toward the higher end of that range, Sou said.

Ecorobotix brought its ARA field sprayer to Aloun Farms to demonstrate for ag tour guests. The machine has three modules, each containing a 3-D camera and a color camera that can take 30 pictures per second as the machine travels at up to 4.5 miles per hour across the field. The machine’s algorithm uses the images to determine which of the sprayer’s 156 nozzles to fire depending on the target selected. It can spray crop protectants or fertilizer on onion plants, for example, or herbicides on weeds and can detect weeds less than 1/10 of an inch tall.

The tour also included stops at Kauai Shrimp and Kauai Coffee Company.

Looking Ahead

NOA members used their time together to set priorities for their talks with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., during the NOA’s annual lobbying trip in March. North Dakota onion grower Barry Vculek reported that the NOA’s 6

Onion World • January 2026

Patrick Williams with Skysense, Arha Padman and Chris Lauritzen with Niqo Robotics, and Brian King and Emily King with Fagerberg Produce visit during the reception.

Delbert Gehrke, pictured with his wife Beth Gehrke, received the Three or More Award for recruiting at least three new NOA members in a year.

Amol Nankar, Daniel Jackson, Chelsea Blaxton-Page, Sean Page and Cliff Riner represent the Georgia onion industry.

Carin Pryor and Cody Nickoloff enjoy the banquet.

OnionWorld.net

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National Onion Association Annual Convention

Laura Vanesa Rodriguez Arcila presents her research poster.

legislative committee feels the Trump Administration is more business-friendly, and therefore the NOA might be able to make some headway on issues such as making the H-2A program more friendly to employers and securing an increase in IR-4 funding. The NOA also continues to advocate for renegotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and imposing a duty on Mexican onions crossing the border.

The convention marked the end of Jared Gutierrez’s two-year term as NOA president. Reflecting on the experience, he noted that the collaboration, camaraderie and support in the organization was appreciated as he served to continue the work of past NOA presidents.

“We have fought hard and we will continue that. Sometimes we feel like we came out a little beat up, but we keep continuing the drive because that’s who we are. We don’t give up. That’s who the American farmer is. We don’t give up,” Gutierrez said before passing the reins to incoming president Barry Vculek.

“I see great opportunities in our association,” Vculek said. “I fully intend to follow in Jared’s footsteps. I think we’re moving in the right direction in a lot of areas.”

Colby Cantwell from Colorado moves up to serve as 1st vice president, and Kimi Maag from Oregon is the new 2nd vice president.

The NOA will hold its summer convention July 8-11 in New York City.

Barry Vculek steps in as the new NOA president, taking over for Jared Gutierrez, who completed his two-year term at the convention.

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Onion World • January 2026

Kauai offers stunning scenery in every direction, including this view of Kuki’i Point Lighthouse, a short walk from the meeting venue. Photo by Mallory Keller

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National Onion Association Annual Convention

NARC Covers All the Bases T

he National Allium Research Conference (NARC) packed three days with almost three dozen research presentations and displayed almost a dozen research posters for viewing.

Talks covered everything from breeding to entomology and plant pathology to production practices.

Watch for in-depth reports on several of the topics presented in upcoming issues of Onion World. In the meantime, we’ll start with an overview of a presentation that generated a lot of interest from the audience.

Luan Oliveira, an assistant professor and precision ag extension specialist

with the University of Georgia in Tifton, Georgia, spoke about the use of AI and drones in estimating onion bulb counts and market sizes.

“Research usually starts with a problem,” Oliveira said. “In this case, we have a solution. Things are more automated and they’re easy to use, but how accurate are those AI-powered platforms? That’s what we’re trying to find in this study.”

The study involved flying a drone over fields of onions during curing and training AI to count onions and classify bulbs by USDA market size, and then comparing that data to quantities and

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measurements collected in the field.

Evaluating the performance of AIpowered platforms is needed to explore the possibility of predicting yield based on those assessments.

Oliveira found that the software used in the trial was 99% accurate at counting onions and 78% accurate at sizing bulbs. The results support the use of cloud-based AI tools for automated morphological measurements in onion production systems under real field conditions, he concluded.

Future work should validate performance across additional phenological stages, production environments and onion cultivars, Oliveira added. Further expansion could include yield and quality prediction models specifically tailored for onions. The platform may also benefit from integrating additional sensing technologies such as ground-based robotics to improve scalability, resolution and early-season measurement accuracy.

Michael Havey, a retired USDA research geneticist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, poses a question to a presenter during a NARC session.

new products

Dewulf Debuts Storage Loader

Dewulf has introduced a storage loader developed specifically for the North American market. The MP 18-110 storage loader is designed for capacity, crop friendliness and ease of use. Dewulf is promoting the loader’s proportionally adaptive pivoting feature and automatic filling programs.

The machine detects the product flow at the boom discharge point and automatically adjusts the pivoting speed. This is said to prevent jolts and evenly distribute product.

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NOA Urges Consistent Inspections for Onion Imports From Mexico

By René Hardwick, National Onion Association Director of Public and Industry Relations

F

ollowing repeated concerns that Mexican onion imports may be bypassing required inspections at the U.S. border, the National Onion Association (NOA) is pressing federal officials to ensure current marketing order regulations are being enforced.

Under Section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, all onions imported into the United States must meet the same grade, size, quality and maturity standards required of domestic producers through Marketing Order Nos. 958 and 959.

“We’ve been down this road before and successfully addressed similar issues with Canadian onion imports,” said Greg Yielding, executive vice president and chief executive of the NOA. “At the most basic level, this is about enforcing the

marketing orders and import standards that already apply to every onion entering the U.S. market. Beyond that, there are additional concerns – including production costs and food safety – that we are raising with the appropriate government agencies.”

Under Section 8e of the Act, all onions imported into the United States must meet the grade, size, quality and maturity standards set under Marketing Order Nos. 958 and 959 during the following periods: 1. June 5–March 9 (and year- round for pearl and cipolline onions): Imported onions must comply with the requirements imposed under Marketing Order No. 958, which applies to Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon.

Built to be Better

2. March 10–June 4: Imported onions – excluding pearl and cipolline – must meet the requirements imposed under Marketing Order No. 959, which applies to South Texas.

The NOA has raised concerns with the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service that Mexican onion imports are not consistently inspected at southern border entry points. When required inspections are missed, the association says, imported product can enter the market without the same level of oversight imposed on domestic growers.

Allowing uninspected imports into the marketplace creates an uneven competitive situation, adds pressure to already narrow margins and affects market pricing. It also undercuts the purpose of the marketing orders, which

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Onion World • January 2026

are designed to establish uniform standards for all imports during the marketing year of the orders.

To address the issue, the NOA has formally requested documentation from USDA confirming that inspections of Mexican onion imports are being conducted as required under the respective marketing orders. The association also is seeking records from border inspection facilities and has stated that if inspections cannot be verified, the product should not be permitted entry into the United States.

The NOA says it will continue to advocate for consistent enforcement of existing marketing order regulations and the law, emphasizing that all onion imports – regardless of country of origin – must meet the same minimum standards to compete in the U.S. marketplace.

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Ag Tech Essentials Buyers' Guide Carbon Robotics • carbonrobotics.com LaserWeeder G2

Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder G2 delivers sub-millimeter precision weed control using AI and laser technology, removing weeds without disturbing the crop or the soil. Trusted by over 100 conventional and organic growers across 15 countries, LaserWeeders are helping farmers cut weed control costs by up to 80% by reducing herbicide use and hand labor. Laser weeding has also been proven to increase crop yield and quality. In 2024 onion trials, LaserWeeder delivered measurable gains: laser-weeded onions were 36% firmer and had 16% more single centers compared to herbicide-treated onions.

The next-generation G2 line offers major performance gains, operating up to twice as fast as the previous model with upgraded NVIDIA GPUs and 240W diode lasers. The updated design is up to 25% lighter than the prior generation and is available in widths from 9 to 20 feet to fit a wide range of operations.

As herbicide resistance increases and regulations tighten, LaserWeeder G2 provides growers with a scalable, chemical-free path to lower costs, higher yield and better quality.

Ecorobotix • ecorobotix.com ARA Sprayer

Minimize phytotoxicity, increase yield, reduce manual labor and save up to 95 percent on inputs with the Ecorobotix AI-powered ultra-high precision sprayer. The ARA sprayer precisely applies plant protection products and fertilizers in a wide range of different crops.

A 2023 study to review the effectiveness of weed control with ARA in onions showed a 78.9 percent savings on herbicides compared to broadcast treatments. The treatments with ARA also showed an overall effectiveness of weed elimination of 92 percent with fewer applications compared to broadcast while simultaneously preserving the integrity of the crops. Weed control with ARA also showed higher yields compared to conventional applications.

While this study showed herbicide savings of around 80 percent, other studies have shown savings of up to 98 percent. The savings depend on a variety of factors like chosen treatment, weed density and other field conditions.

Fox Packaging • foxbag.com Bags

Fox Packaging delivers innovative and sustainable packaging solutions tailored to the precision agriculture needs of onion growers. Designed to enhance operational efficiency and resource optimization, these packaging options integrate seamlessly with advanced automation technology.

The Fox Fresh Mesh Bag supports optimal respiration for extended shelf-life, while the Fox Leno Bag ensures durability for bulk packing. The Fox Fresh Mesh Wicketed Bag, also compatible with automated wicketed baggers, combines high breathability with precision-engineered materials, guaranteeing consistent performance and excellent merchandising potential.

Fox Packaging’s solutions, paired with automation-ready designs, support the goals of precision agriculture by reducing waste, improving efficiency and maintaining product quality.

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Onion World • January 2026

Fox Solutions • foxbag.com/equipment/fswb4ds-bagger Dual Wicketed Bagger

Improve input control at the bagging line with the Fox Solutions Dual Wicketed Bagger (FSDWB4). The V-style product infeed works best for round produce and uses two independently driven conveyors. Users can set different belt speeds to meter flow, align onions and reduce bridging in delivery chutes.

Each head has its own bag finger that guides filled bags through the chosen closing system. The FSDWB4 pairs effectively with weighers and counters for accurate dosing and stable bag weights, which helps lower giveaway and packaging variability while maintaining high throughput.

Industrial Ventilation, Inc. (IVI) • ivi-air.com

Imperium Storage Control Panel

IVI’s Imperium storage control panel directs optimal conditions for stored onions. Users can precisely control airflow, carbon dioxide, humidity and more and easily retrieve valuable historical data to aid in setting parameters. This powerful system for onion storage protection offers straightforward operation right at the user’s fingertips. The IVI app allows for off-site monitoring and control.

The Imperium storage control panel is made in the U.S.A. under the supervision of the engineers behind the innovations. The company’s eye is always on improvement and technological advances, driven by growers’ needs in working with IVI’s service and sales team.

L&M Specialty Fabrication • turbotopharvester.com Turbo Top TT-248 Harvester

Turbo Top can be equipped with John Deere GreenStar Precision GPS to allow the harvester operator to follow planter tracks and reduce operator fatigue.

Turbo Top’s TT-248 harvester is a self-propelled twobed onion harvester. Green onions are one of Turbo Top’s specialties, allowing growers to start harvest earlier and control curing. Turbo Top is capable of both day and night harvest and can work through the toughest of conditions.

TT-248 is powered by a 330 HP John Deere Tier IV Final Package engine. It has infinite cab control of fan speed, primary chain speed, ground speed, load boom speed/movement, cutter bar height and front elevator depth.

Turbo Top comes in different models and has many options to fit growers’ needs.

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Ag Tech Essentials Buyers' Guide Symach • symach.nl/en Palletizing Equipment

Symach has a long history of palletizing onions and innovating to provide customized modular designs to guarantee a high stacking rate with maximum flexibility. From 50-pound bulk onion bags to complex Octabins, Symach handles all customers’ palletizing needs.

The company also offers options to stabilize the pallet at the end of the line, including wrapping and double stacking, and palletizing within the margins of the pallet to ensure ease of loading during the shipping process.

Tristeel Manufacturing • tristeelmfg.com Automatic Dual Tote Bag/Bin Filler

The Tristeel automatic dual tote bag or bin filler saves labor and increases plant efficiency by utilizing programmable logic controls (PLC) and filling with no or limited operator involvement via weight with floor scales or product height in the bag or box. Put two empty bags on the machine, turn it to automatic, and the machine will fill both stations. The machine can be run in manual mode, as well.

Tristeel has been making these machines for 50 years and has enjoyed an excellent track record.

Unisorting • en.unitec-group.com Onions Sort 3 and UNIQ Onions

Unisorting is a brand of Unitec, an international group specialized in designing and manufacturing innovative solutions for processing, sorting, quality selection and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Onions Sort 3 and UNIQ Onions are technological solutions in the company’s sorters that allow for external and internal quality selection, entirely conceived by the Unitec research and development team and manufactured 100 percent in house. The technologies offer significant cost savings at the defect detection stage and reliably classify products according to homogeneous quality characteristics so that they can be routed to the most suitable trade channel.

With its technological solutions dedicated to onions, Unitec wants to be close and strongly connected to the improvement objectives of U.S. packing houses. The company is also supported by four operating branches located in Washington, California and Oregon.

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Onion World • January 2026

Paci�c Northwest Edp Electro-bagger model EB 2218 DF

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Texas

Clegg Smith, Area Manager (956) 340-0022

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Josh Heller, Area Manager (717) 940-5440

Imperial Valley & Yuma, AZ

Scott Richards Area Manager (928) 580-2484

Florida, Georgia & the Carolinas

Derek Levy, Sales Rep. (912) 433-4752 New Mexico

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Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference

PNVA Packs Agenda With Timely Topics T

he Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association’s annual conference and trade show brought together growers, researchers and vendors for two days of education and networking. Held Nov. 19-20 in Kennewick, Washington, the conference included a program focused on the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities shaping the industry.

An all-day onion session covered everything from irrigation to insect management, as well as in-depth updates on food safety practices, onion disease research and economic trends.

In addition, presenters speaking during the conference’s general sessions tackled water policy, labor issues and legislative challenges impacting the agriculture industry.

Attendees were able to spend breaks perusing the trade show, which featured the latest products, services and technologies from more than 100 exhibitors.

Onions on display at PNVA allow attendees to view varieties side by side.

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Onion World • January 2026

Bill Cobb with Cobb Consulting and Kara Greer with Matrix Sciences visit during a conference break.

Miguel Alvarado and Miguel Alvarado Jr. with Yakama Nation Farms check out the onion varieties on display.

Jimmy Graton (right) with Gowan Seed discusses new varieties with an attendee in Kennewick.

Rafael Mendoza with Starpoint Ag (right) shows the company’s equipment to Aramis Corpus with Frederickson Farming.

Nicolas Stein works the Insort USA booth.

Be a voice — not an echo.

— Albert Einstein

The voice of America’s onion industry in Washington D.C.

https://bit.ly/JoinNOA OnionWorld.net

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Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference

Vendors and conference attendees visit at the trade show.

Stuart Reitz with Oregon State University speaks at the onion session.

Contact your Redox Agronomist today:

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Onion World • January 2026

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IN THE NEWS

NOA Plans International Trip The National Onion Association (NOA) is planning its first international tour in nearly a decade. From May 27 through June 11, 2026, NOA members will experience Europe through a mix of classic destinations and behind-the-scenes visits with leading onion growers, shippers and suppliers.

More than just a sightseeing tour, the NOA is promoting the trip as a chance to see how European counterparts work, build relationships and enjoy unforgettable travel along the way. Here’s what’s planned: • Copenhagen, Denmark: Begin the journey in Denmark’s capital with guided touring, plus visits to Sweden and Maanssons, a Danish onion grower/shipper/packer.

• Amsterdam, Netherlands: Tour innovative onion operations, including a fully automated onion shed with Eqraft and NNZ. Enjoy dinner with the Dutch Onion Association and explore Amsterdam, including the Alkmaar Cheese Market.

• Bologna, Italy: Discover this historic city and visit Unitec.

• Venice, Italy: Travel by train to Venice for two days of touring before flying home.

Anyone interested in going on the trip is asked to contact Greg Yielding or call the NOA office at (970) 353-5895. Early interest will help determine if the tour moves forward.

Modern Produce Equipment Partners With Stanhay As part of a new partnership, Modern Produce Equipment now represents Stanhay, a precision seed drill designer and manufacturer, across the Great Lakes region. The partnership is expected to give growers in the Great Lakes region better access to equipment, parts and service.

Founded in 2015, Modern Produce Equipment provides vegetable handling and processing equipment for carrot, onion and potato producers.

Stanhay is headquartered in the UK and has an international dealer network.

Vive Crop Protection Expands Team Vive Crop Protection starts the new year with two new additions to its commercial team. Russ Gibson joins the commercial sales team as the Great Lakes territory sales manager, and Marie Yeager joins the product management team as senior product manager.

Gibson has more than 10 years of industry experience in sales and marketing, including roles at Amvac, UPL, CHS Agronomy and Valent U.S.A. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering and a master’s degree in finance.

Yeager brings expertise in product management, marketing, sales and supply chain management. Most recently, she managed the diamide and indoxacarb portfolio at FMC, where she is credited with growing the business despite intense competitive pressure.

calendar Jan. 15-16

Empire State Producers Expo Jordan Hall Geneva, N.Y. www.nysvga.org

Feb. 3

Idaho-Malheur County Onion Growers Association Annual Meeting Four Rivers Cultural Center Ontario, Ore. office@amgidaho.com

July 8-11

NOA Summer Convention

Martinique New York on Broadway New York www.onions-usa.org OnionWorld.net

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FROM THE NOA

Standing Up for Growers

How the NOA Turns Member Support Into Real Action

By René Hardwick, National Onion Association Director of Public and Industry Relations

H

ave you had enough of ag policy and regulations cutting into your bottom line?

Maybe you’ve reached the point where you want to get involved and help steer the future of this industry instead of settling for the morning coffee complaint circle. If so, the National Onion Association invites you to step in, speak up, and help push real progress for you and your neighbors.

We say it often because it remains true: the NOA stands up for the onion industry every day. From representing growers and shippers in legislative discussions to creating opportunities for learning, networking and crop promotion, the association works to shape policy and build long-term demand for onions.

Under the leadership of Greg Yielding and an executive board that shows up ready to work, the NOA has sharpened its focus on both federal policy and industry growth. That renewed commitment is already paying off.

Each year, we take a member delegation to Washington, D.C., to meet directly with congressional offices, ag policy staff and federal regulators. These trips consistently open members’ eyes to how much influence they can have simply by telling their stories face-to-face. This year’s trip is scheduled for March 1-4 – after planting starts and before Spring Break – which makes it easier for more growers to attend. If you’re a member in good standing, we encourage you to come see this work firsthand and add your voice to the conversations that shape your livelihood.

This advocacy doesn’t begin and end with one trip. Over the past seven years, steady engagement has made a noticeable impact. A clear example is the longrunning dispute over Mexico’s failure to meet its 1944 Water Treaty obligations.

The NOA has worked with partners to keep this issue in front of decision makers, contributing to ongoing U.S. efforts to enforce compliance, incorporate treaty adherence into USMCA discussions, and explore a per-bag duty on Mexican onions to level the playing field.

Advertiser Index

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Aqua Irrigation....................13

L&M......................................7

BASF - Nunhems..................12

NOA....................................19

Carbon Robotics....................3

Noffsinger.............................8

Chinook Equipment.............17

Redox..................................20

Clearwater Supply.................9

Redwood Empire...................9

Ecorobotix...........................11

Seed Dynamics....................24

Gearmore............................10

Seedway..............................13

Gowan Seed........................17

Top Air...................................9

JH Biotech...........................23

Unitec.................................17

Onion World • January 2026

We’ve also stayed involved in the issue of onion-related recalls. While no investigation has ever definitively proven onions as the source, the process is difficult for everyone – consumers, investigators and industry alike. The NOA continues to push for thorough, fair investigations without escalating tensions in a way that harms growers who work hard to provide a safe, quality product.

That work will continue as long as needed.

When growers pay their annual NOA dues, they’re funding this kind of action – advocacy, information, outreach and the steady work that protects the industry. It’s an investment that keeps the onion sector stronger and more resilient.

As a member, your 2026 dues are up, and we ask they be paid by Jan. 31 to continue this work. If you’d like to join, or rejoin, visit www.onions-usa.org/ membership to download the brochure or sign up online. If you’re interested in attending the Washington, D.C., trip, reach out to Greg Yielding at gyielding@ onions-usa.org.

René Hardwick can be reached at rhardwick@onions-usa.org.

OnionWorld.net

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