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Major tomato grower says it's his final crop
United States
Sunday 21 October 2007
Taylor & Fulton Farms, one of the state's biggest and most prominent tomato-growing operations, says this year's crop will be its last.
Jay Taylor, whose family founded the 54-year-old Taylor & Fulton, declined on Thursday to offer specifics about the changes or challenges facing the company.
"We have months ahead of us but we are preparing to change direction," said Taylor, citing confidentiality agreements. "We're not ready to say yet. It's a little too early."
But other tomato growers pointed to a host of problems plaguing the industry in recent years, including hurricanes, freezes and costly new food safety regulations.
Those come on top of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has allowed a flood of Mexican tomatoes into the market, depressing prices.
Scores of growers stopped planting after NAFTA took effect in 1994 and dozens of Florida tomato packing houses stopped boxing up the red fruit.
During the recent housing boom, tomato farmers and others in agriculture struggled to find property they could afford for farms as prices skyrocketed amid speculation.
Taylor is not the first operation to get out of tomatoes this season.
Big Red Tomato Packers, one of the largest on Florida's east coast, made its 2006-07 crop its last.
The Fort Pierce-based grower and shipper had been in business for 30 years, and its owners cited dwindling profits industrywide as a key reason for their decision.
Jay Taylor, whose family founded the 54-year-old Taylor & Fulton, declined on Thursday to offer specifics about the changes or challenges facing the company.
"We have months ahead of us but we are preparing to change direction," said Taylor, citing confidentiality agreements. "We're not ready to say yet. It's a little too early."
But other tomato growers pointed to a host of problems plaguing the industry in recent years, including hurricanes, freezes and costly new food safety regulations.
Those come on top of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has allowed a flood of Mexican tomatoes into the market, depressing prices.
Scores of growers stopped planting after NAFTA took effect in 1994 and dozens of Florida tomato packing houses stopped boxing up the red fruit.
During the recent housing boom, tomato farmers and others in agriculture struggled to find property they could afford for farms as prices skyrocketed amid speculation.
Taylor is not the first operation to get out of tomatoes this season.
Big Red Tomato Packers, one of the largest on Florida's east coast, made its 2006-07 crop its last.
The Fort Pierce-based grower and shipper had been in business for 30 years, and its owners cited dwindling profits industrywide as a key reason for their decision.
