Tomato crops have been heavily damaged in Essex County.
Tomato grower Walt Brown says this is his worst year in the 40-plus years that he’s been in the business.
Heavy rains last month damaged many of the local crops, even though some fields in Essex and in the Chatham area have very little damage.
“We spent more time pumping water off fields than taking care of fields,” says Brown. “We couldn't get in to spray. It was difficult.”
Essex County received more than 20 inches of rain last month. The heavy rainfalls left many tomato fields under water, causing widespread damage.
Brown, who is a director with the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, says Ontario is slated to produce 500,000 tonnes of tomatoes this year, but yields province wide will be down.
“We’ve lost 20 per cent of the industry this year and it could be more.”
Many of the growers supply tomatoes to food processors like Heinz.
Brown can't say if the shortfall will have any impact on the supply of ketchup, but Leamington Mayor John Paterson says it could impact the number of seasonal workers hired by the company.
“If there are less people working in the tomato processing end of it this year, that's less money being distributed around the municipality. In that respect, it will affect us.”
Those who will suffer the most are the growers.
The mayor is hoping they can bounce back from a tough year.
“Farmers are resilient out here. They take the hits and the rest of time, get good returns. I know we'll survive and farmers will, too, and we'll carry on.”
