A local pioneer in the Vidalia onion industry was recently honored by the Vidalia Onion® Committee, which named Terry Gerrald the 2009 Grower of the Year.
       Gerrald, along with partner Jamie Brannen, owns Gerrald Farms in Clito. He has been growing Vidalia onions since 1981, and was one of the first to bring the crop to Bulloch County. Vidalia onions can only be grown in certain areas with a particular soil type.
       "I feel great about the honor," Gerrald said. "It's an honor that my fellow growers would bestow this upon me."
       According to information from the committee, Gerrald was "among a determined group of growers who bused back and to from Atlanta in the 1980s, convincing state legislators to provide a legal definition of the Vidalia onion and its growing region."
       Battling a significant number of "bootleggers" who started bagging and selling counterfeit onions under the “Vidalia” name, Gerrald and others achieved their goal to protect the integrity and quality of the Vidalia onion.         
       In 1999, Gerrald built one of the first completely enclosed food-safe sheds and installed the industry’s first state of the art drying rooms in 2004.   He was also the first to switch to 100 percent plastic bins for harvest and storage.
       Gerrald has served as an active member of the Vidalia Onion Committee for years.  VOC executive director Wendy Brannen said “Terry has had the furthest to drive to our meetings than anyone, but he’s made that trip from Statesboro to Vidalia every month without complaint.  He has won the respect of his fellow onion growers through his candor, dedication to the industry, good farming, and by just being an A-plus kind of guy.”
       The Grower of the Year award recognizes overall achievement and success as a Vidalia Onion producer with an emphasis on quality production and compliance with the marketing order.
       Candidates must be a registered Vidalia® Onion grower; not be a current member of the committee; has submitted reports and payments in a timely manner; has had no or few complaints to the committee office;  conforms to the standards set forth in the order; and enhances and supports brand recognition.
       Growing Vidalia Onions has "changed our whole direction in farming," Gerrald said. "We're still a row crop farm, but onions have been a good financial tool."
       Gerrald operated the family farm with his father, Roy Gerrald, until his father's death in 1990. Since then, he has continued the family business, taking Brannen on as a partner about seven years ago.
       "Jamie plays a big part in this," he said. "He is more of the salesman, but he still works on the farm. This has been a joint venture in a way. The best thing I have ever done is take Jamie on as a partner.
       The Vidalia Onion has an interesting history. In 1989, farmers united to enact a Federal Marketing Order (FMO) for Vidalias.  The USDA program established the Vidalia Onion Committee and extended the definition of a Vidalia onion, passed by the Georgia legislature in 1986, to the federal level.  The FMO also provided producers a means to jointly fund research and promotional programs, which still actively benefits the industry 20 years later.
       The Vidalia onion was named Georgia’s “Official State Vegetable” in 1990.
       Gerrald's honor was announced Feb. 6 at the FMO Annual Banquet in Vidalia. The theme reflected the 1980's, with music and memorabilia from the era to set the mood.