The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

with electronic colour sorters. Today, lectronics are not as important since ‘olour is not as critical to the processor. Over a fiveâ€"year average. Kent farmers outyield Essex. But processors like to keep asmall percentage of Essex farmers in busi- ness who grow on lighter soils, because if there is a wet September they can still har- vest. “And besides,” Clair noted, “whole-packers still like Essex tomatoes better due to the colour. Although this isn’t as important to juice, ketchup and paste processors." At one time, Clair explained. the govem- ment paid farmers to tear out bushes and tree-lines to clear more land. “It has turned Essex County into a prairie," he said. “Now.” he added, “the government is paying us to plant tree«lines over a ten to twelve year time frame." In the mean time, Essex tomato farmers are practicing rye stripping as a short-term solution and are keeping cover crops in as long as they can. Today, Clairexplained, “we have to learn how to work our land less to preserve the moisture as much as possible. We have to am how to make fewer trips across the ield, to farm sloppier to protect our soil, and preserve moisture for the dry season coming on. Tomato growers have got to learn how to fann more efficiently. lfthey can’t learn, they're not going to stay in business." And besides, Clair added, “the average age of farmers today is well into their fif» ties. There are not many young farmers tackling farming Ifit wasn‘t for people like my son, I don‘t know what would happen to farming. it scares me. There are not many coming on stream. There are too many other ways to survive in this world to take the risk and all the hard knocks." “Farming has treated me good," con- cluded Clair. “I am optimistic that it will treat me good in the future. I enjoy farmâ€" The Annual Cycle of Work on 3 Plug and Tomato Farm November. December. January, February ’0 plan for the upcoming year, lor both plug and tomato operation 2vestablish contracts and prices with tomato processors 5' establish land base and choose fields “There’s more to growing tomatoes than just pulling into the field in May and planting. Choosing what to grow in what field is a complex process involving rotations, and whether you get a ten or thirty ton crop depends on your decisions.” 5 repair and/or revamp machinery for modern technology N attend conlerences and meetings in- volving growers. processors. chemical companies, etc. t0 plant tomato seedlings or plugs from mid to the 25th of March in greenâ€" houses “We seed the number of trays accord- ing to the processors needs. So if the processor needs 1.5 million seedlings for the first week in May. we seed about the 25th of March." “We seed in a 288 cell tray in peat with vermiculite on top and hope for 250 see- dlings. The trays are then placed in a germ chamber for 72 hours at a high humidity and 80 degree temperature. After, they are spread out in the green- houses and kept there about 42 days until planting. And they are watered and ferâ€" tilized depending on the weather conditions." April M prepare the land, inciudingpioughing, fertilizing, iumigating and the planting of rye strips for wind erosion May Ntransplant tomato seedlings in the fields “The planting start date is set by the processors. This year it was May 6th. Processors like to have all varieties planted in about a 21-day period in the month of May. But planting can take about 30 days from the start date. If there is a frost scare, like this past season, planting is stopped altogether since new plants are more volatile.” June 30 cultivate and spray tomato fields “Today, the tomato grower’s biggest enemy is the colorado potato beetle. Trap crops are planted around the edges of fields and they do help." July 9* hand hoe and spray tomato fields August. September 2" harvest tomatoes “Harvesting occurs in a six-week period from about August 20th through to the end of September. But harvesting can still occur into the first week of October." “During the harvest months we work long hours. We work all day and fix machinery half the night to be ready for the next day.” October N finish harvesting and clean-up fields and equipment. HOME & COUNTRY, Fall 1992 13