Vidalia onion producers began shipping onions April 19, this year’s official pack date set by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee. The pack date is determined by soil and weather conditions during the growing season to help ensure only the highest quality Vidalia onions, known for their sweet, mild flavor, are shipped to stores.
Approximately 10,000 acres of Vidalia onions were planted for the 2021 season.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the passage of the Vidalia Onion Act by Georgia’s legislature. The Vidalia Onion Act established that only sweet onions grown in 20 southern Georgia counties from a distinctive Granex seed and packed and sold on or after the official pack date each year can be called Vidalia onions.
Hand-cultivated by 60 registered growers, Vidalia onions represent about 40 percent of the nation’s sweet onion market and are sold in every state.
