US (VA): Dublin farm to house 600,000 tomato plants
In an attempt to get closer to its customers, Red Sun said it was going to build a facility in Dublin that would supply tomatoes to Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The Red Sun project is about to open the door to an entire new industry as it's the first commercial greenhouse operation to set up shop in the New River Valley, according to New River Valley Economic Development Alliance Executive Director Aric Bopp.
In a region that was hit hard by the collapse of the American manufacturing industry, new jobs like these are celebrated with the kind of fanfare that brought the governor to town.
Phase I of the $40 million project is wrapping up now and will include 18 acres of glass-covered greenhouse space.
Work on Phase II should start next year, adding 12 acres, and after that Phase III will bring another 18 acres.
Abbott said it will grow 600,000 tomato plants, each of which will be about 45 feet long. The entire facility will produce 30 million pounds of tomatoes every season.
"That's what we're hoping for: a lot of tomatoes," Abbott said.
As for whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable, Abbott understands both sides of the debate, but he sticks with Red Sun tradition and calls it a fruit. Visconti added if you're not convinced, try one of their sweet cherry tomatoes and, "you will agree with me."
Source: mysanantonio.com
