High temps affect California organic tomatoes, but solid supplies remain

As temperatures in California exceed 100 degrees for days on end, its organic tomato crops face challenges, especially large heirloom tomatoes.

Rick Kilby, purchasing manager for San Francisco, California-based Earl’s Organic Produce, noted overall supplies have been good as the wholesaler sources from several different areas. He said the southern half of the state has produced a steady supply but the heat in Northern California has exacted a toll. 

“We have seen temperatures as high as 110 degrees in the day without overnight lows dropping where they need to be,” he said.

Heat stresses the plants and can alter the production schedule. Moving into late July, Kilby said volumes were picking up and he is expecting better supplies in August and September. 

With conventional tomatoes, crops kick into high gear in mid-summer, which does impact demand and tends to lower the FOB price. Kilby said organic tomato growers typically are not faced with the same dynamic, but there is an impact.

“We try to keep the price at a decent level so our farmers get a good return, but there is a time when demand drops off every year,” he said.

Speaking in late July, Kilby said the supply and demand on most of the organic tomato varieties appear to be in sync. 

Organic Harvest Network sales manager Brian Everett said the high temperatures that much of California has been experiencing for the last couple of months has left its mark on the tomato crop, especially impacting full size heirloom organic tomatoes. “Excessive heat forces the plants to flower prematurely, causing lots of fruit to come in all at once,” he said.

Organic Harvest Network is a Northern California distributor representing Durst Organic Growers and their robust tomato crop in Yolo County. The Durst family has been farming in the area for many decades, with organic fresh market tomatoes being one of their favorite calling cards.

Everett noted that many of the tomato-growing districts had greater volume in June and July than they usually do. This coincided with increased supplies from Mexico causing a difficult marketing situation at the front end of the deal. 

As the season has worn on, the supply/demand equation has gotten back into sync for many of the organic varieties including cherry tomatoes, mixed heirloom cherries, Romas and round tomatoes. However full-size heirlooms are still in tight supply and could remain short well into August if the high heat remains, said Everett.

Speaking to OPN on Monday, Everett said the next few days were forecasted to be very warm with temperatures reaching higher than 95 degrees. Some relief is expected over the weekend before high temperatures are expected to return again the following week. 

Temperatures above 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit cause tomato plants to basically shut down. “We’re doing what we can, but it is a difficult situation,” he said, adding that it's common for summer temperatures to climb above 100 degrees in Yolo County.

Some organic varieties, especially the cherry tomatoes and mixed cherry heirlooms, outperform the larger fruit during the heat. Supplies of those varieties have remained solid, if not plentiful, Everett said.

“We do have new blocks (of tomatoes) coming on as we plant in waves and our supplies will be increasing,” he said. 

Everett noted that though the FOB prices on organic tomatoes are not at a promotable level, the volume continues to pick up and they are writing new business on their coast-to-coast sales. “We go across the country with our organic tomatoes and we are always looking for new partners,” he said.

Organic Harvest Network will have several varieties to sell into October, if the weather cooperates. “We should have mixed cherry heirlooms until mid-October; full size heirlooms could last until late September and Romas can last even longer than that,” Everett said.

Creekside Organics sources from two locales

Brenda Haught, president of Creekside Organics Inc. in Bakersfield, California, said the company has two California districts from which it sources at this time of year—Capay Valley, north of Sacramento, and Hollister, near the Salinas Valley. 

California’s organic heirloom tomato deal got off to a strong start, she said Tuesday, as the warm June weather brought its first block of tomatoes from Capay about 10 days early, on July 1. An active market greeted the new crop of organic heirlooms just as Baja California was seeing reduced supplies from its fields.

“Right now, we are working our way through our second block and we are seeing lighter supplies because of the heat,” she said. “Our third set (from the Capay Valley) will start near the end of the month and we have to wait and see how it will be impacted by the heat.”

The Capay Valley acreage is expected to produce good supplies through August and into the first week of September. The Hollister acreage will start producing organic heirlooms the last week of July and continue well into October, Haught said. Those plants have not been adversely impacted by heat as the proximity near the coast doesn’t get nearly as hot as California’s Central Valley. That Hollister acreage will also produce an organic cherry crop starting in early August.

She expects to see promotable supplies and pricing on organic heirloom tomatoes as the company's Hollister deal moves into full production. “We have promotions going on right now, which we are covering. But that’s leaving us with fewer supplies for the open market,” she said.

Speaking generally of the organic heirloom supply, Haught said production is also coming out of the Northeast, which has been characterized as “relatively normal volume.” She added that as California finishes up with its volume in October, Mexico will start shipping again, which typically means continuous supplies of organic heirlooms without a gap.