Tomato harvest will begin in early June with stable acreage and good crop prospects for Hermitage, Ark.-based Gem Tomato & Vegetable Sales Inc.
“We harvest round, roma and grape tomatoes from early June to approximately July 20,” said Gary Margolis, president of the company. Acreage has been adjusted to meet demand over the years and has remained steady for several years, he said.
Growing conditions have been good this season, with normal crop timing anticipated.
Gem Tomato has been marketing Arkansas vine-ripened tomatoes for over 40 years, and Margolis said the company has maintained long-term relationships with farm families for three generations. “Arkansas is the traditional kick-off of our summer program, where harvest begins in early June when Florida shipping points wind down but prior to the most homegrown crops maturing,” he said. “It provides us an early window due to warm climate and quality soil conditions.”
Margolis said the marketer’s customer base is mostly predominately retail and wholesale distributors serving grocery chains and independents in the mid-South and Midwest regions, which allows for overnight deliveries to many locations.
“While more and more communication is being done electronically, we still enjoy speaking to customers by phone and still deal with many some of the same loyal customers we started with nearly 40 years ago,” he said.
Many retailers view Arkansas field-grown vine ripes, packed retail-ready, as a specialty item, Margolis said. “With hydroponic tomatoes often being featured year-round, large-sized, home-grown tomatoes are getting more attention in-season.”
Demand for local and regional products continues to increase interest in Arkansas tomatoes, and Margolis said regional and local promotions have become a powerful marketing tool for retailers.
Retail-ready, price look-up code-labeled packaging includes two-layer, place-packed 20-pound and single-layer 15-pound units, as well as 25-pound bulk filled. All products are Primus Global Food Safety Initiative-certified, he said.
Overcoming challenges
Input costs are up for growers, and that makes achieving good yields important to profitability, he said.
“Our principal grower, Triple M Farms, owned jointly by the Meeks and Moffatt families, do an exceptional job from seeding to final packaging and are recognized as outstanding growers,” Margolis said.
Margolis noted that Triple M has been successfully relying on the H-2A program for many years, which provides adequate and competent labor, many of the same workers returning year after year.
“Farming is a very tough business, and the challenges seem to be increasing every year,” Margolis said. “Our growers have met the challenges head-on, and they deserve all the credit. We believe that we have carved a unique niche in the summer tomato program, and we continue to be optimistic about the future of Arkansas tomatoes as the specialty item [they have] become.”
