Tomatoes on the vine are top of mind these days; supply of organic cluster tomatoes are in a normal production cycle currently. “At this point in time in the cycle of production it's steady and will increase as the days get longer and the weather improves,” says Jimmy Coppola with Westmoreland-Topline Farms.
Second season of cluster tomato production
This is the second season of full production for Topline’s cluster tomatoes – it’s relatively new but Coppola says acreage has increased already because of demand. Requests have picked up for all tomato commodities, he says. “With the coming holiday pulls we expect the next few weeks to be pretty steady as far as supply/demand goes.”
Pricing has been good, he says. “We have found that our demand has picked up leading us to increase our acreage from one year over the next and looks like we will continue expanding as demand continues to increase. Costs are higher for greenhouse growers, incorporating all that’s needed to operate them. “These tomatoes are not grown like conventional tomatoes on the vine and input costs are definitely higher in producing organic,” he noted.
The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers has stated that in 2016, out of the 2,207 acres of greenhouse operations (cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes), tomatoes make up 36.5 per cent of the total. Topline is also working on organic grape tomatoes. Coming seasons may include expansion on their organic offerings to be able to handle a full line of organic greenhouse produce.
For more information:
Jimmy Coppola
Westmoreland-Topline Farms
Tel: 519-322-2351