Onion cool stores are helping growers stay ahead of the game.
On-farm storage is becoming important infrastructure in the horticulture industry, and that includes purpose-built cool stores for onions.
Onion growers are looking for ways to proactively combat market pressures such as labour shortages, changing supply chain demands, rising input prices and biosecurity concerns.
Among other benefits, cool stores allow you to store onions for longer. This opens up new market opportunities, increasing profitability and reducing risk, and ultimately helping growers maintain a competitive edge.
Read on to learn exactly how onion cool stores can benefit your operation.
7 Benefits Of On-Farm Onion Cool Stores
1
1. Greater Quality Control
Growers are increasingly investing in cool stores to maintain quality.
This comes as a response to tightening quality and storage requirements from supermarkets and exporters.
The ability to store on-farm and deliver consistent product quality can also become a valuable point of difference for growers and provide access to new markets.
Onion Cool Stores Versus Airing Sheds
While onion airing sheds can play a valuable role in initial curing and short-term storage, they rely on ambient conditions.
This means airing sheds typically lack the environmental control and consistency needed for longer-term storage.
In contrast, onion cool stores offer growers more precision by maintaining stable, low temperatures and controlled humidity and airflow.
This helps to protect product quality and extend shelf life by:
- Minimising moisture loss and weight shrinkage
- Reducing sprouts and softening
- Maintaining firmness, colour and skin integrity
- Reducing the risk of storage diseases such as neck rot and black mould
This higher level of quality control is becoming a priority for growers targeting retail, export or year-round supply contracts, where consistent product quality, shelf life and visual appeal are essential.
2
2. Easier Biosecurity Management
On-farm onion cool stores allow growers to control access, airflow and hygiene throughout the storage process.
This makes it easier to prevent the introduction or spread of diseases, maintain biosecurity standards and provide traceability documentation.
For example, cool stores with good airflow, low temperatures and low relative humidity are an important control measure for common storage diseases such as:
- Neck rot
- Fusarium basal rot
- Bacterial soft rots
- Black mould
This gives you the ability to confidently hold product for longer, while also helping build strong relationships with buyers through compliance and consistent quality.
3
3. Access More Markets
One of the biggest advantages of investing in a cool store is the ability to store onions on-farm for much longer than in an airing shed – often up to six months.
This capability can unlock market opportunities.
With on-farm onion cool stores, growers can
- Meet contracts that require consistent supply beyond harvest or staggered deliveries
- Access local or export markets that require longer shelf life and higher visual appearance
- Reduce dependence on third-party storage providers
Access to more markets means more opportunities to increase profitability and maximise your return on investment.
4
4. Reduce Storage Costs
Rising off-farm storage costs have been a driving factor for many cool store projects.
An on-farm facility reduces your reliance on off-farm storage and gives you more control and predictability over storage expenses.
This enables accurate budgeting, better revenue forecasting, and improved profitability.
Onion cool stores can also be highly energy-efficient and cost-effective to operate.
For example, Tolsma units such as the Quadro Compact Cooler have hatches that open when the outside temperature is low enough, reducing the need for active refrigeration.
And as mentioned earlier, on-farm storage also gives you access to new markets and contracts.
So, a well-utilised cool store can quickly pay for itself through reduced storage costs and additional revenue opportunities.
5
5. Save On Freight
By reducing your reliance on third-party storage facilities, on-farm cool storage helps reduce double handling and unnecessary freight movements.
This lowers freight costs (particularly in growing regions where there is no nearby storage), increases efficiency and gives you more control over logistics.
Pat Hope experiences this firsthand with his potato cool store shed by simply gaining more control over the timing of deliveries.
By improving logistics and reducing freight costs, onion cool stores can improve profitability and streamline day-to-day operations.
This lays the groundwork for our next point – greater efficiency and reduced labour requirements.
6
6. Increase Operational Efficiencies
Onion cool stores can significantly improve operational efficiency and help reduce labour costs.
For example, speaking with Tolsma about the Optical Sorter, Pat Hope shared, “We now load two B-Doubles in two hours instead of three hours, with four fewer staff. So, we can do more, in less time with less labour.”
While Pat’s example refers to potato storage, the same labour and logistics benefits apply to onion cool stores.
A purpose-built, on-farm onion cool store can help you:
- Reduce labour requirements by integrating technology that saves time and reduces manual tasks
- Avoid bottlenecks at peak times, such as during harvest or weather delays, by giving you greater control over storage timing compared to off-site facilities
- Improve staff retention and attract new staff by reducing pressure and creating manageable workloads.
So, on-farm cool storage can streamline your operations, save you money and protect your business from labour shortages – a persistent challenge and constraint for the industry.
7
7. Gain A Competitive Edge & Future-Proof Your Business
On-farm cool storage is a proactive investment that strengthens your reputation as an industry leader, provides a competitive edge and sets your business up for the future.
How?
With greater control over quality, supply and delivery, growers can meet the demands of supermarkets and exporters more reliably, helping to secure contracts, build trust, and unlock new market opportunities.
A purpose-built cool store also supports sustainable, long-term growth by reducing overhead costs such as freight, labour, and off-site storage fees – and giving you the infrastructure and confidence to scale, adopt new technologies, and stay resilient and agile in a competitive industry.
That’s a summary of seven key benefits of onion cool stores for growers!
If you are planning a cool store or an airing shed project (smart move), you may find the resources below useful.
Useful Resources
- How Much Does An Airing Shed Cost To Build?
- What Size Cool Store Do I Need?
- How Much Does It Cost To Build A Potato Cool Store Shed?
And for project-specific advice on sizes and designs, book a project consultation. Call us on 1800 687 888 – we would love to work with you!
