East Texas farmers expecting plentiful onion season, despite slow start

MT. SELMAN, Texas (KETK) – Across East Texas, onions are ready to come out of the ground. After a bad couple of years dealing with extreme weather, local farmers say they need a good season.

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“Last year was a disastrous onion year, probably one of the most disastrous years of the last 20 years,” Texas A&M AgriLife Extension vegetable specialist for District 12, Juan Anciso, said.

Tim Buckley, owner of Buckley Farms in Cherokee County, said things didn’t get off to a great start. Parts of East Texas have seen heavy rainfall and in some cases severe flooding. Those rainy days also impact farmers, pushing planting time back a few weeks.

“Then we did get it out and everything was looking good, and then we got a big rain and it washed a lot of stuff and we had to start all over on it,” Buckley Farms owner Tim Buckley said.

It had been a waiting game to see if crops would make it to harvest. After months in the ground, rows of onions are ready to pluck.

“This season is certainly a blessing to the onion growers,” Anciso said.

Even after all their struggles this year, Buckley said it’s still going to be a good season.

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“It looks good, we made an onion crop, you know I told you it was a maybe before, but we’ve made an onion crop, so everything looks good,” Buckley said.

Buckley is now harvesting his noonday onions. After planting 63,000 this year he is grateful to see a big crop.

“Hard to say right now, but it’s going to be, I’m going to say double the crop last year,” Buckley said.

A blessing needed for East Texas farmers. Buckley Farms says next up for harvesting is their tomatoes and watermelons. They will open their farmstand in Flint this Friday, for customers to come enjoy their noonday onions.

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