Locati Farms, Inc

The history of Walla Walla Sweet Onions is intertwined with Locati Farms, beginning in 1905 when Joe Locati arrived in the Walla Walla Valley from Italy. Joe initially worked for Pete Pieri, a French immigrant who brought the original onion seeds from Corsica. In 1909, Joe bought his own farm and started raising onions. By the 1940s, Joe's sons, Ambrose and Pete, took over and, along with their cousin Virgil Criscola, started the first onion packing shed in the valley in 1949. Today, Michael Locati continues the family tradition, maintaining the original onion varieties while incorporating new innovations.

Locati Farms employs a method known as 'topping and tailing' to enhance the visual appeal of their sweet onions. The farm also uses a state-of-the-art curing and packing facility, developed in 2003, to ensure the highest quality onions. This facility allows for meticulous curing, storing, packing, and shipping processes, ensuring that only the finest Walla Walla Sweet Onions reach customers.

In 2008, Locati Farms and the Walla Walla Onion Festival were featured on 'Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo' on the Travel Channel. Each harvest season begins in mid-June and continues until mid-August, with hand-selected onions that meet strict criteria for color, shape, and texture. The farm's onion plants are typically ready by late February or early March each year.