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May 24, 2002 |
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| Dear Grower: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CTGA Reaches Agreement at $49.50
Per Net Ton The Association is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with The Morning Star Packing Co., Ingomar Packing Co. and Del Monte Foods for $49.50 per net ton for the 2002 season. A summary of the agreements is as follows: The Morning Star agreement has a Base Price of $48.50 per net ton and incorporates its revenue neutral Variety Matrix made up of four groups of varieties based on viscosity. The Company is also utilizing a similar approach for peel varieties. In addition, the agreement includes Early Season premium of $2.00 for deliveries from the beginning of the season through July 20th. Deducts for MOT will be 1X at < 1% and 3X for 1.5% and above, and deducts for Grass Green will be 1X throughout the entire range. Late Season premiums are $5.00 per net ton for tomatoes delivered form September 15 through September 21, $7.50 for tomatoes delivered from September 22 through September 28 and $10.00 from September 29 through the end of the season. It should be noted that the Association altered its standard Late Season premiums for the 2002 year to $5.00 per net ton for deliveries starting September 15 through September 24 (ten days), $7.50 for deliveries from September 25 through October 4 (ten days), and $10.00 from October 5 through the end of the season. This is due to the outstanding yield history of the new varieties over the past several years during the late season time period. Ingomar Packing has executed a Short Form agreement that calls for a $49.50 Base Price plus standard Late Season premiums and the same terms of trade as embodied in the 2001 Master Agreement. The Agreement also provides for the inclusion of a mutually acceptable quality incentive program to be completed prior to June 30, 2002. The Association is currently working with Ingomar to develop a Soluble Solids program similar to last year’s program. Del Monte Foods will continue to utilize a cash contract with standard terms of trade and Late Season premiums that are consistent with their term agreements of $5.00 per net ton starting on September 15 - 21, $7.50 for deliveries from September 22 - 28 and $10.00 from September 29 through the end of the season to reach the $49.50 annual price. The Base price for the annual agreement, however, will be $49.28 because the premiums paid on a weekly basis holds a .22¢ greater value than those paid every ten days. (see above) Growers are hereby
released to sign the above CTGA approved contracts. The Association is
continuing discussions with the remaining processors with indications that
most will be signing in the near future. |
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20% Discount for CTGA Members CTGA members will receive a 20% discount off eTomato Standard Service provided by AGRIS Corporation. In return for CTGA’s major sponsorship of the development of eTomato, Association members who have received this service for free for the past three years will now enjoy a 20% discount for 2002 and 2003. The Association feels that eTomato, a web-based product that will allow you to track all of your tomato loads with one phone call, is a critical management tool for today’s modern processing tomato grower and urges all members to subscribe and take advantage of this discount. |
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Renowned UC Davis Tomato Geneticist Charles Rick
Dies at 87 Charles Rick, a plant geneticist and botanist recognized by many as the world’s leading authority on the biology of the tomato, died Sunday, May 5, in Davis. A professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, he was 87. Something of a modern-day Charles Darwin and Indiana Jones combined, Professor Rick was equally at home in the classroom, greenhouse, laboratory and field. His research expeditions took him from the Galapagos Islands to high in the Andes, where he criss-crossed rugged terrain to collect hundreds of wild tomato species. These wild species contained a wide range of genetic variation that was missing from the modern domestic tomato. His studies led him to construct a genetic “linkage map” that pinpointed the locations of many mutant or variable genes on each of the tomato’s 12 chromosomes. It was the beginning of his pioneering effort to map the tomato’s entire collection of genes, now known as its genome. Professor Rick’s early work laid the foundation for molecular maps that today make the tomato genome one of the best-mapped plant genomes. His efforts to identify the genetic basis of resistance to the nematode – a tiny worm pest – made it possible to develop nematode-resistant tomato varieties. Because the tomato has been so well characterized genetically, it now serves as a research model for plant scientists and can be more readily modified for commercial use. In addition to his contributions to building a better understanding of the tomato as a crop, Professor Rick also made important contributions to the field of plant evolution. His research helped advance the understanding of the relationship between the geographic distribution of plant species and their ability to crossbreed with each other. His work also helped clarify the impact of flower structure on a plant’s ability to crossbreed with other species. And his research on structure, crossability, native habitat and geographic distribution helped explain the evolutionary relationships among various tomato species. In 1949, Professor Rick co-founded the Tomato Genetics Cooperative to encourage tomato researchers to communicate their findings and exchange information. He took sole responsibility for publishing the cooperative’s report from its beginning in 1951 until 1981. Perhaps one of his greatest contributions was in establishing and serving as curator for the Tomato Genetics Resource Center at UC Davis. The center is the largest known collection of tomato seeds in the world. Professor Rick devoted countless hours to collecting, cataloging, maintaining and distributing seeds from wild species and genetic stock. Many primitive varieties and wild species that were collected and maintained at the center are now extinct in their native habitats. Furthermore, many of the unique mutant tomato stocks developed by researchers throughout the world would have been lost without Rick’s efforts to archive them. His tireless efforts were recognized in 1990, when the center was renamed the Charles M. Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center. |
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Processed Tomato Intended Acreage
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Muir Glen Turns Up the Heat with Two New Fire Roasted Products SEDRO-WOOLEY, Wash. – (BUSINESS WIRE) – April 2, 2002 – Muir Glen, the country’s largest producer of premium canned organic tomatoes, announced today that it has added two new products to its highly successful line of fire roasted tomatoes: Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies and Fire Roasted Whole Tomatoes. The only organic processed tomato brand to offer fire roasted products, Muir Glen unveiled its new line in December 2000 with the introduction of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes. History Making Potato Pact After three months at the table, contracts have been finalized that will earn the potato farmers of the eastern Washington and Oregon regions an average increase of $3 per ton for processing potatoes from this year’s crop. The agreement between contract growers and French fry processors Simplot and Lamb-Weston was hailed as “history making” and the “best settlement for the region’s potato industry in 20 years” by Dale Lathim, the executive director of the Potato Growers of Washington (Othello, WA), which handled the negotiations. Lathim said negotiations are continuing with other processors. “This was certainly a big step towards restoring profitability to potato contracts,” Lathim said. PGW includes about 110 growers representing about 70 percent of Washington’s contracted volume. |
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In The Field The 2002 crop of processing tomatoes overall is off to a very good start statewide. The early production areas of the south state look impressive to date. Moderate temperatures experienced in the south state during fruit set appear to be contributing to a potentially early, large crop. Heat units in the south as of May 20 were running ahead of normal with 1,036 compared to 920, a thirty year average, which supports the possibility of an early July start to harvest. Early fields in the north and central state look good, are on schedule and appear to be headed for a normal start to harvest. The end to transplanting operations should finish up around Memorial Day. |
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John C. Welty |
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