Mr. SWEET ONION
Most people think Clif Notes are the short version of popular literature, but in the onion world, “Cliff Notes” are sweet onion expertise delivered by our very own Cliff Riner, “Mr. Sweet Onion” himself. Cliff is our VP of Production & Grower Relations and is the leading authority in sweet onions.
How does one become “Mr. Sweet Onion?” Cliff has spent his career working in agriculture, specifically the onion business. He has been dedicated to improving the quality of the onion business and was instrumental in establishing Univ. of Georgia’s Crop Quality Laboratory that evaluates & researches sweet onions. He is dedicated to Vidalia and the entire onion industry and is active in the National Onion Association and the Vidalia Onion Committee. He is a passionate educator that loves teaching people about agriculture and the onion industry and spends time using video and social media platforms to help buyers and consumers understand how their food is produced.
In his role at G&R Farms his work takes him from Georgia to Peru, Texas and Mexico to trial and sample the best sweet onion varieties in the world and make sure we are using the latest production techniques, efficient harvest methods, sustainability tools and quality varieties to grow and deliver the best sweet onion that consumers know and love, ever single onion and every single slice and bite. Throughout the growing season you can expect that Cliff has several dozen variety and production trials underway to make sure we continue to improve the quality of our sweet onions.
But it’s not just us at G&R that notice his good work and dedicated efforts. Cliff has received many awards throughout his career. He has received the Donnie H. Morris Award, given by the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association for Excellence in Extension Programming. He received the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Young Alumni Award. He received the Georgia Farm Bureau district Young Professionals Award. He has also received State level awards for Extension and Research programming in Pecans, Vegetables, and Cotton with the Georgia Association of County Agriculture Agents, and the National Association of County Agriculture Agents Achievement Award. He has served on the Tattnall County Farm Bureau Board for 9 years, and currently the Vice President.
He is also an active member of Tattnall County Farm Bureau (Vice President), Vidalia Onion Committee (Vice Chairman, Research Sub-Committee Chairman), Vidalia Onion Business Council (Vice Chairman), Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and National Onion Association.
