Future of Veg Unveils New Onion Portfolio and Honors Women Farmers
Syngenta Vegetable Seeds hosted its Future of Veg event in Woodland, California, Aug. 11- 13, bringing growers, distributors, retailers, researchers, and industry experts together to see the latest vegetable innovations firsthand in the field.
“Here at the Future of Veg, you'll see how our customer feedback helps drive our innovation pipeline. We have a large number of new products here in the field that growers can taste and experience themselves. These products are a direct result of your feedback telling us what you need, as far as taste, agronomics, and what your customers are asking for in the stores,” said Sonja Begemann, Global Digital Content Lead
“We had more than 100 products that we showcased to growers. This event is really important for us, the Syngenta Vegetable Seeds team, because we connect the whole value chain,” said Gerard Antonius Eysink, Regional Commercial Head LATAM
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Honoring the International Year of the Woman Farmer
The United Nations designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and Syngenta used its Future of Veg events to spotlight the women shaping the industry's future.
“2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer, declared by the United Nations, and Syngenta is proud to join this campaign,” said Ana Grau, Brand and Customer Head, Americas, Syngenta Vegetable Seeds. “Syngenta is honoring women in agriculture because we believe it is important to amplify their voices. We believe that by sharing their stories, other women will be inspired and will be confident to thrive in their communities and help feed the world.”
New Onion Portfolio Takes the Field
Woodland attendees also got a first look at Syngenta's new onion portfolio, including yellow, white, and red long-day varieties suitable for Fresh Market and Processing.
Onion varieties include:
- Roundo: An early-season, long-day yellow onion that combines consistent shape and uniformity with exceptional reliability and adaptability to give West Coast growers a dependable start to the season.
- Olympo: Delivers premium quality and consistent performance for fresh market growers. Exceptional skin quality and thin necks give growers a dependable main-season white onion with strong packout potential.
- Darko: A long-day onion with unique dark red and violet skin and a jumbo, globe-shaped bulb. Its vigorous plant and high tolerance to field stress make it a reliable choice for growers who need long storability and mechanical harvesting suitability.
“The most important qualities that we breed for in onions are shape uniformity, and we're also breeding for single centers and storability,” says Miguel Guillén, Product Specialist for the western United States at Syngenta Vegetable Seeds. “It's a careful balance between agronomic traits and consumer traits.”
That same growers-first approach carried through every station at Woodland, from the onion field to the innovation tent.
“These events are critical for our business because we get to hear from the growers firsthand. Seeing these crops in the field and talking with our R&D experts makes such a big difference. The door is always open at Syngenta. We love showing what we do, and we love sharing that experience with our experts here in North America as well,” said Gerard Sippel, Commercial Unit Head JAK.
About Syngenta
All photos are either the property of Syngenta or used with permission.
Performance results may vary based on local climate conditions, geographic location, soil type, and growing practices. Consult with your local agronomist or extension service for region-specific recommendations.
© 2026 Syngenta. Some or all of the varieties may be protected under one or more of the following: Plant Variety Protection, United States Plant Patents and/or Utility Patents and may not be propagated or reproduced without authorization. The Syngenta logo is a trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.
