An Idaho company has acquired Baker & Murakami Produce Co. in Ontario, expanding its footprint in the U.S. onion industry.
Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls announced the acquisition on April 28.
The Ontario company packages and ships onions throughout the U.S., operating from a large industrial base in the heart of the city.
“Baker & Murakami has earned a reputation as one of the most respected onion packers in the industry,” said Newman Giles, Eagle Eye CEO. “Bringing their team and operation into Eagle Eye Produce aligns with our commitment to strategic growth.”
Baker & Murakami was most recently owned by Grant Kitamura, Jerry Baker and Steve Baker.
Eagle Eye officials didn’t respond to emails or telephone messages seeking comment.
They complete the acquisition in a time of turmoil for agriculture in the U.S. Newly-imposed tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on imports has in turn caused other countries to add or increase their own tariffs. The impact on agriculture isn’t likely to become clear for months.
The agriculture industry also is being affected by the president’s focus on immigration. Trump has largely closed the southern border to undocumented migrants. His agencies meantime have initiated aggressive deportations. The combined actions are expected to shrink the labor force available to the food industry.
The Ontario company traces its start to Shigeo (Sig) Murakami. He moved to the region during World War II to avoid internment camps set up for Japanese Americans. He and his wife Mitsuko worked as farm laborers before operating their own farm.
He founded Murkami Produce in 1969, later turning it over to his son, David. Ownership shifted in the ensuing years until settling into the current ownership.
The Baker portion of the company traces to 1972, operating then as a part of DeBruyn Produce. Jerry Baker, who ran the company for 20 years, acquired the business and renamed it Baker Packing in 1997. His son, Steve, served as president.
In 2017, Murakami Produce and Baker Packing merged, with Grant Kitamura serving as general manager. He had been with Murakami since 1980.
Eagle Eye started as a farming operation in Roberts, Idaho, a small town north of Idaho Falls in eastern Idaho. Newman Giles, the founder, “set up his first office in the laundry room of their home,” according to the company website.
The company built a reputation in potatoes and expanded into onions. It ships about 100 million pounds of onions a year, according to its website.
Eagle Eye already has a presence in Malheur County with an operation in Nyssa. The company’s director of onion sales in Nyssa until last year was Jason Pearson.
Pearson, who since has joined JC Watson Packing Company, has been on the board of the Malheur County Development Corp., the public company behind the Treasure Valley Reload Center.
Kitamura was a founding director of MCDC and continues as its president.
The owners of Baker & Murakami said in a statement, “We are confident that Eagle Eye will carry that legacy forward by building on the foundation we established and bringing a new level of innovation, sales expertise, and marketing strength.”
Joe Ange, Eagle Eye director of onion sales, said the “acquisition puts Eagle Eye in a substantially stronger position to meet growing demand across both food service and retail.”
