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Processing tomatoes remain by far Yolo County’s leading commodity crop, increasing 13 percent in 2006 over the previous year to a farm gate receipt value of $77,096,786. It was a very good year for processing tomatoes with prices up 20 percent over the year before.
 Bruce Rominger of Rominger Brother Farms As Yolo County’s largest crop, processing tomatoes accounted for 37, 026 acres of the county’s rich, class I soil. These millions of tomatoes aren’t destined to be sliced onto burgers or tossed into salads so you can get to know them individually – they are going to be diced, crushed and cooked at tomato processing plants. Starting in July and continuing, if the weather holds, into October, tomato harvesters will be rumbling through the fields, and often all through the night, harvesting tomatoes to be loaded into the waiting double sets of trailers, to be taken to the processing plants and turned into the vast variety of tomato pastes, tomato sauces, ketchup and other tomato products that stock the shelves of restaurants and markets across the nation.
When we order pizza at a restaurant, whether its in Davis or New York City, and it comes slathered with tomato sauce, or when we squeeze that ketchup onto our hot dogs and burgers, we can be ninety-nine percent sure that sauce and ketchup was made from California processing tomatoes. Ninety nine percent of all the processed tomato products consumed in the entire United States come from tomatoes grown in California, and Yolo County alone supplied 1,320,509 tons of those tomatoes in 2006, making it the 3rd largest producer in the state. Fresno County has 41%, San Joaquin has 12% and Yolo has 11% of the state’s tonnage.
The processing tomato industry has seen dramatic shifts. The Hunt-Wesson Cannery, built in Davis in 1963 after a controversial town vote, closed its doors in 1999. One year later, the Del Monte cannery in Woodland shut down. The Campbell Soup Cannery in Dixon remains open and is an important market for local growers. Today, the laden tomato haulers are once again trucking to Woodland. The farmers’ cooperative, Pacific Coast Producers (PCP), bought the old Del Monte plant in 2001, and moved its entire tomato processing activity from Lodi to Woodland.
For the county and its biggest industry, as well as for Woodland, the county seat, PCP’s purchase and relocation were profoundly important. During the height of the season, this cooperative is the second largest manufacturing employer in the city. According to a 2001 report, 20 percent of the processing tomatoes going to the PCP plant are grown within a 10 mile radius of Woodland and the remaining 80 percent within a 20 mile radius.
PCP processes conventional and organically grown processing tomatoes, of which there are an increasing number in Yolo County. Campbell’s produces organic tomato products from local tomatoes, and like other processors and growers, is interested in increasing its growers who use sustainable production methods. The Morning Star Packing Company, which opened its trucking company’s offices in Woodland in 1983 and built a processing plant in nearby Williams (Colusa County) in 1995, provides local contracts. They too have an organic product. Chris Rufer, Morning Star’s founder and owner, began his career as a tomato truck owner-hauler in Woodland. “The future of tomatoes in Yolo County is good,” he says. “The yields in the county are good and the county’s number one commodity crop seems to be viable.”
More and more farmers are growing tomatoes sustainably, with help from University of California at Davis and its extension service. Sustainable practices are also a major trend in Yolo County, where farmers are noted for being progressive and well-educated. “No other county has the level of education and progressive ideas that Yolo County farmers do and I’ve worked in counties across California,” Rick Landon, Yolo County’s Agricultural Commissioner told us recently.
“We’ve got a smart group of local growers who are cutting edge and growing on a large scale,” Frank Muller, Chairman of the Board of PCP and a local grower, says, “that’s one of the benefits of growing in Yolo County.” They are pioneering sustainable growing practices and yet don’t reap the benefit of that directly with a product that is differentiated as “sustainably grown” on the label, but they are working on that. There’s a learning curve they all say, and they are working within a complex agricultural rotation with corn, sunflowers, wheat and alfalfa. Yolo County tomato growers have a history of leadership which continues today.
Processing tomatoes will be celebrated this year on March 15th at The Big Tomato, a free to the public tasting from local and regional restaurants of foods prepared using processing tomatoes, educational displays, children’s fun area, and 1,000 free processing tomato seedlings will be given to attendees.
Fettuccini with Tomato Sauce and Shallots
The shallots add a hint of sweetness to the sauce, which can be used for any type of pasta. Other ingredients, such as dried mushrooms or sausage can be added as well.
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced, to make one-quarter cup
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with their juice
1 and one-half teaspoon kosher or sea salt
one-quarter teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
12 ounces dried fettuccini
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the shallots, and sauté, stirring, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice, one-half teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the thyme leaves. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the tomatoes have reduced and thickened into a sauce, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add the remaining thyme.
While the sauce is cooking, put several quarts of water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. About 10 minutes before the sauce is done, add the fettuccini to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 13 minutes. Drain and put the pasta in a serving platter. Pour over half the sauce, turning the pasta. top with the remaining sauce and the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. Serves 4 |
