Can sack of onions save a farm?

Would anyone buy a 50-pound bag of onions on eBay for $150,000?

Farmer Chris Pawelski of Orange County, N.Y., who posted the ad, may be hoping for the impossible, but that's because he's exhausted all of his other options.

Hurricane Irene flooded 48 of his 51 acres, leaving him with $200,000 in debt and the real possibility that he'll lose his farm, which supplies several New York City supermarkets with the cooking staple.

“I'm trying to get attention,” he said.

The first auction, which he launched earlier this month, had a starting bid of $300,000. It generated 2,300 hits, but no takers. Now he's asking for half that amount for a bag that would ordinarily cost just $10 wholesale. Though he's received lots of sympathy from eBay users, none so far have offered what he needs: a bundle of cash.

A fourth-generation family business, Pawelski Farm is located in the Black Dirt region of the Hudson Valley. As an added incentive for would-be buyers, Mr. Pawelski's eBay offer also includes a five-gallon bucket of black dirt.