This year's Decision Makers Agriculture Tour hosted by Chamber of Commerce focused on one of the wonders of Genesee County, the mucklands and  the onions those fields produce.

"We got to see the Big O onion facility and it was beautiful, a really high-tech way of processing onions," said Tom Turnbull, interim president of the Chamber. "It's just amazing. Every time I come on one of these tours, the technology that goes into producing our food in this county is amazing."

As Turnbull and tour participants stood on the black soil of the mucklands on a cloudless afternoon near rows of onions waiting to be harvested, he marveled at unique enterprise.

"Seeing what the muckland is and the history, which I really didn't know the full story, about what is strange swamp land that's high in nutrients, and there's only a finite amount of in the country," Turnbull said. "It's just fascinating."

For The Batavian's previous coverage of the mucklands and onion production, click here.

Photos by Howard Owens