California Tomato Harvest Bursts with Record Yields

According to an Ag Alert from the California Farm Bureau, California tomato growers are looking at a bumper crop this year—maybe even more than canneries can handle. Thanks to plenty of water and cooler summer weather, yields are hitting record highs, averaging about 55 tons per acre. That beats the previous record of 52.1 tons per acre set back in 2018. Some growers are already reporting yields as high as 75 to 80 tons per acre. The challenge? Processors are only committed to taking what’s been contracted.

Canneries cut contracted acreage by 10% this season, but USDA still projects total production around 11 million tons, just shy of last year’s output. What’s going to happen to the excess fruit? It’s likely to get disked under. But, for now, growers say it’s a good problem to have—though how it shakes out depends on the weather and what canneries are willing to take.

On the pricing side, growers are seeing a small dip from last year, and the heavy crop is slowing down harvest schedules. Exports have held fairly steady, but demand here at home just isn’t what it was during the pandemic surge. Still, folks in the industry say it’s part of adjusting to new eating habits—and for now, they’re just taking it one field at a time.