Peri & Sons Farms is Cultivating a Sustainable Farming Future
Peri & Sons Farms has continued to grow its business year after year, even though its products, onions, are considered one of the most common commodities in the world.
“The truth is, we don’t see our business or our products as commodities, and we work hard to make sure our customers do not see them that way either. We take the time to build relationships with our customers ─ listening and sharing information about our farm, our many innovative processes, our sustainability and the safety measures we have in place ─ to underscore the added value of our product,” said Teri Gibson, director of marketing and customer relations for the farm.
The Peri & Sons Farms’ team sees relationships as a differentiating factor. To the team’s way of thinking, when there’s no differentiation between options, a buying decision can come down to one factor: price. Buying produce based solely on price isn’t a sustainable strategy, however. That’s why the team believes that it’s important to provide a narrative that explains what it does, why it does it and how that helps the customer. Speaking to that, Gibson added, “We also offer a wide range of options for our products, our programs, our packaging and our delivery, and we follow through with attentive customer service every step of the way.”
Peri & Sons Farms has been growing, packing and shipping premium white, yellow, red, sweet and organic onions since 1979 and recently added cipollinis, shallots and garlic to the product line. Today, it farms about 7,600 acres of onions between Nevada and California, amounting to sales of more than 550 million pounds of onions throughout the United States and abroad.
In 2006 Peri & Sons Farms began growing organic onions on just 1 acre; today about 10% of total sales come from organics. To date, across the category, demand for conventional onions significantly outweighs the demand for organic onions. As the organic onion category grows, Peri & Sons is positioned to meet that demand.
“Because we grow both premium and organic onions, we’re a one-stop shop that can fully cover a customer’s needs and save them the headache and pitfalls of ordering through a web of suppliers and distribution channels. Our straight-line process can decrease logistical and transportation costs, saving time and money,” said Gibson.
Peri & Sons Farms has been an SCS Global Certified Sustainable farm operation since 2016. It’s a standard of achievement requiring dedication at every level of the farm’s operation, from those managing the business to those working the ground.
According to Gibson: “There is no one big green measure. It’s hundreds of measures, hundreds of new things and improved things that we keep implementing year after year to increase efficiency, reduce costs, reduce waste, conserve resources, improve environments, empower people and enhance community.”
Peri & Sons has made a long-term verifiable commitment to be resolute and efficient with respect to resources, minimizing environmental impacts, social accountability and economic viability. As an example, it recently implemented an online-only application process for its H2A farm labor program. This new initiative saves literally tons of paper and associated printing materials. The farm has also begun to recycle used vehicle oil, using approximately 3,000 gallons to create safe and clean-burning oil to heat its workshops in Nevada each winter.
These are just a few of the many things that the company is doing to support its sustainability mission. Gibson noted: “Sustainability practices are always evolving. The moment our plan is implemented, opportunities arise to improve upon it and update to stay current. The fundamental holistic principle of sustainability is to adapt and persevere, and that’s what we are doing.”
When it comes to obtaining affordable, sustainable non-plastic packaging for its onions, Gibson added: “It has been challenging, but we are dedicated to moving forward on this front. We now pack all our organic red, white and yellow onions in our unique Earthbag®. This bag is biodegradable, compostable and 100 percent plastic free. It’s been so well received that we are adding a 2-pound version to our product offering next season. We also offer earth-friendly non-plastic clamshells, for our organic shallots, garlic and cipollinis, that are biodegradable and compostable.”
Through a series of little process improvements, the company is now saving more than 33,000 square feet of material per day. That’s a lot of material that won’t go into landfills. Also, as part of Peri & Sons’ company-wide sustainable mission, it’s committed to reducing product packaging and looking for more sustainable packaging resources. Gibson concluded, “These initiatives help Peri & Sons Farms keep overall operating costs as low as possible, provide the best products and value to our customers and consumers, and help to keep our planet healthy for generations to come.”