US: Act two at Backyard Farms

The greenhouse operation in Madison recovers from setbacks and is back to meeting strong demand for its firm, red tomatoes, but the sustainability of the business is still unclear.

“You want them all to be red,” said Tim Cunniff, executive vice president for sales and marketing at Backyard Farms, as he indicated a cluster of cocktail tomatoes that would be in the stores within the month. He touched one tomato that already looked just right, deep red, firm and despite the longitude, latitude and a light dusting of November snow outside, alluring enough to bring on a craving for basil and mozzarella. “Without this one being ketchup,” Cunniff added. He wants that hydroponically grown cluster to arrive in customers’ homes with everything red and that first tomato he pointed to still firm, still perfect. “That’s the trick.”

Every week between 350,000 and 400,000 pounds of tomatoes leave Backyard Farm’s greenhouses, headed to stores like Hannaford, Shaw’s and Market Baskets in New England and Gourmet Garages or restaurants in New York. None spends more than 12 hours on the road and none travels farther than Maryland, where Backyard Farms has one customer.

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