Just after taking the interim President/CEO position at the California Tomato Growers Association, I found a collection of pictures of tomato harvesters taken when I was the Field Tech Coordinator for California Canners & Growers in 1961.  There is even a picture of an FMC machine using lug boxes.  My boss at the time was fond of saying, "You cannot take golf balls, paint them red, and run them through a rock crusher and call them tomatoes."

He was a brilliant man, but reluctant to change.  He couldn't comprehend what the future would hold for tomatoes.

In 1964 with the Bracero program eliminated, the California industry had to change to mechanization or perish.  Mexico, Puerto Rico and other countries with an adequate inexpensive labor force were more than willing to take up the slack.  A group of us visited the growing areas of Mexico and saw that soil, water and labor were plentiful.  Mexico could fill the gap.  But the California tomato industry elected to fight for its place in the marketplace by moving forward with mechanization.  It was a wise decision.  Today, California produces more than 10 million tons of tomatoes that are processed into a variety of products.  And we are poised for more expansion as a result of health benefits that need to be strongly reported to the U.S. population.

Yields in the field have made dramatic increases and now with drip irrigation and multi-row equipment, efficiencies continue.  The new double row harvester that can fill a set of tubs in less than 10 minutes should tell the rest of the world that you must be very good to compete with California producers.

Unfortunately, the adverse weather in July and August, which cannot be controlled, reduced yields and dollar return.  These results point to the need to have varieties that set and mature evenly in high heat conditions and are mold resistant when the rains come.

Yes, even an industry that has made great strides in the past 40 years cannot rest.  We need to move forward with more change.  Growers and processors need to work together through research, trade and promotion to grow demand another 20 percent to compensate for the efficiencies that we continue to create.

The Board of Directors of the CTGA has dedicated time and resources to position itself for the future (see the Vision 2004 article).  The future will be challenging, but change is necessary to win in this global economy.

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