Today's the day Vidalia onion lovers likely have marked on their calendars -- the sweet, mild onion hits grocery store produce departments.  The Georgia Department of Agriculture set today as the official pack date for the vegetables; Vidalia season usually lasts through mid-July.

Brett McLain of McLain Farms and chairman of the Vidalia advisory panel said in a release that setting the April 25 date helps avoid shipping immature onions.

Vidalia onions are unique to Georgia and may only be grown in parts of a 20-county area in the southeastern part of the state. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Georgia farmers harvested 268 million pounds of Vidalia onions from 11,200 acres in 2015.