The Coronavirus Depression Is Here: It’s Time To Plant Your New Ideas

It’s hard to argue with the fact that COVID-19 is quickly accelerating us towards a financial depression. And in a moment when uncertainty reigns and survival is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, it might feel like now isn’t the time to plant new ideas. But a look back to the Great Depression and the true story of an onion farmer in Georgia might just motivate you to start planting.

To many, an onion is just an onion.  But in restaurants and kitchens across America there is one name that stands out from the field (literally): Vidalia.  Much like the wines of France and the cheeses of Italy are associated with the unique regions in which they are produced, onions grown in the region around Vidalia, Georgia have gained a global reputation for their unique sweet taste that differentiates them from the tear-inducing onions you probably get at your local grocery store.

But what you might not have known is that Vidalia onions got their start in difficult times just like the ones we are in right now – the Great Depression. And the lessons of how this prized piece of produce became an example of innovation apply to our current COVID-19 times as well.

First, however, a trip back in time.

It was 1931 and Moses Coleman, a farmer who was working his fields around Vidalia, realized that the onions he planted (intended to be a useful cash crop in the difficult days of the Great Depression), were not exactly what he expected. Rather than the typical “hot” onions he thought he would grow, Coleman’s onions were sweet. It was this unusual flavor (later understood to be the result of the low amount of sulfur in the Georgia soil) that made them so unique… and desirable.

So, by a mix of necessity and chance, the Vidalia onion story began.

Once word got out about the sweet-tasting onions, other famers in the Vidalia region of midland Georgia started planting them as well, earning a good price and a great reputation for their harvests.  In fact, with Vidalia at the crossroads of Augusta, Macon and Savannah, word of Vidalia onions started to spread across Georgia by travelers who visited the farmer’s market that the state opened in the region.

Yet even with the growing word of mouth, the success of Vidalia onions might not have happened if it wasn’t for another bit of chance and insight: a major grocery store chain in the Southeast, Piggly Wiggly, also happened to be based in Vidalia. The chain’s leadership realized the market potential of the crop, and coupled the unique allure of the produce with the large distribution network of Piggly Wiggly. With this market-opening opportunity, Vidalia onions were soon in found in countless regional and national kitchens.  By the 1980’s, the uniqueness of the 20-county growing region around Vidalia was recognized by state and federal agriculture authorities, and its special reputation was cemented.

So what does any of this have to do with today?

The Vidalia onion story is a classic example of necessity turning into opportunity.  Moses Coleman and the other famers in the region we desperately trying to grow the kind of crops that would sustain their family farms in a time of crisis. It was that kind of need, matched with unrelenting experimentation, that led to the “ah-ha” moment in 1931. Without the central Georgia farmers planting seeds over and over again, the Vidalia onion might never have come to be.  

But that’s not all.

Being at a crossroads of travelers, as well working with a vital distribution partner (Piggly Wiggly), Vidalia onion farmers were able to opportunistically expand their market. Then they fiercely protected their brand, and built a national reputation.  Today, the start of the Vidalia onion season is celebrated by a festival (that sadly had to be cancelled this year as a result of COVID-19) and its very own museum in downtown Vidalia. In other words, what was once a fluke of an onion, is now a vegetable phenomenon.

Similarly, in the distressing days of this global pandemic, you might feel a bit like those Great Depression farmers – planting seeds and desperately trying to find something that will help you survive. Quite possibly, those ideas may not be working out the way you want them to… at first. But just like Moses Coleman, if you stick to it, you might find that the idea you planted turns into an unexpected opportunity, inspiring others around you to follow your lead.

And just like the ways those 1930s farmers leveraged the Georgia farmers market and the Piggly Wiggly stores across the Southeast, you too can use this time to explore new markets for the ideas you have grown. New crossroads are being created every day, and while some of those markets might be right down the road, some might be far and wide.  But until you plant your seeds and grow them, you can’t bring them to market.

So now is exactly the time to plant a seed. Grow your opportunity. Harvest your results.

It’s not easy, especially in these challenging times. But if you keep planting seeds of ideas, you will find that just like those Vidalia onions Moses Colemen grew in 1931, something that otherwise makes you get tears in your eyes will eventually give you the sweet taste of success.