Story and photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher
Racing is in the McLain family blood. Brothers Brett and Rusty with McLain Farms used to race cars and trucks professionally, but now settle for go-karts, tractors and even their Raptor farm trucks. Race trophies adorn their shop, attesting to their past successes.
But the McLains’ newest trophy, for Vidalia Onion Grower of the Year, is going in their Lyons, Georgia, farm office. There, staff can see it and be reminded that they all played a part in earning the award.
“We are not truck-window farmers,” he adds.
Vidalia Onion Grower of the Year
The criteria for Grower of the Year changed this year. The emphasis is now on yield, quality, a lack of complaints and the ability to stay within the confines of the Vidalia marketing order. Brett says it means a lot to him to be the first recipient of the award after the more quantifiable rules change.
He credits the staff at McLain Farms for the honor and says they work hard and try their best to put out quality product and produce high yields.
“I want to dedicate this award to our dad,” Brett said upon receiving the award.
His father, James McLain, passed away last year.
A Family Farm
The McLains’ grandfather started the farm, and James ended up with it, teaching his sons the skills that would serve them so well later on. The McLain family all work on the farm. Brett runs the growing side of the 440-acre onion operation while Rusty directs the packing shed. Brett’s wife, Kim, keeps the office on task and efficient, and son Chase drives a mean forklift. Shuman Produce in nearby Reidsville, Georgia, handles the sales. Daughter Allison is too young to have a determined role, but Brett hopes the kids will take over the farm eventually.
The family and full-time staff are small, so the McLains rely on H-2A contract employees from Mexico during harvest. Brett says there are not enough locals to do the seasonal, hard and dirty work.
“These days, honestly, you can’t find anybody that is willing to do farm work,” he says.
So the farm has turned to the H-2A program despite the high costs involved. Workers’ transportation and housing is paid by the farm, along with wages nearly $4 an hour over minimum.
“It’s gotten a lot more expensive, but I don’t know what we would do without it,” Brett says.
They have built housing right on the farm, and the same crew has been coming to Lyons every year for 20 years. Brett appreciates the work they do.
“They do a good job. They are honest and hard-working people,” he says.
Kim handles the voluminous government paperwork, crossing the correct t’s and dotting the appropriate i’s.
Production
The farm has several small ponds and deep wells for irrigation. This year, there has been plenty of rain, filling the ponds. The McLains are environmentally conscious and have switched from high-impact pivots to more efficient low-pressure drop sprinklers on their pivots.
Brett waters about a half inch every five days when the onions start to bulb and swell during the last month of their growing cycle. Until then, the onions don’t need a lot of water.
Trimble guidance is used for planting, guaranteeing consistent row spacing. The sweets are tender and more susceptible to bruising. The growers occasionally use a Top Air harvester, but the crop is almost exclusively hand harvested. Harvest takes six to seven weeks, and they want to be done by May 15. After May 20, they are fighting a losing battle with heat and rain.
This year, April 22 is the date set for Vidalia onions to go on sale. Up to that date, onions are sorted and graded, binned and stored so that once April 22 hits, they are ready to ship. The onion plants look very healthy this year, and they expect an excellent crop.
Brett says that paying attention to detail has been the key to the farm’s successful harvests. The McLains identify weak spots in their operation, focus on them and work to make them stronger. They walk the fields every day, micro-managing and scouting for trouble.
Checkered Flag Past
The McLain brothers raced cars and trucks professionally in the Pro Challenge Series, traveling up and down the East Coast. The pinnacle of their racing career was competing at the famed Bristol half-mile concrete oval in Tennessee.
“Man, that was a blast,” Brett smiles.
The brothers would work on their dad’s onion farm during the day, work on cars at night and go racing on the weekends. A tight schedule like that doesn’t leave much time for family, and Brett decided to hang it up when his son, Chase, was born, cutting out the hectic traveling.
The race for Grower of the Year is ongoing, though. With the new Vidalia rules, growers can win the award more than once, and the McLains are focused on repeating their title.
“Onions is all we do. We focus on this 100 percent. We are going to shoot for Grower of the Year next year, too.”
