The year’s first box of tomatoes was delivered a week earlier than last year to the Bradley County Extension Office in Warren, a tradition for about 50 years and a harbinger of the season to come.
The first box — all Cherokee Purple tomatoes — was delivered May 19 by Westin Clanton, son of Randy Clanton Jr. and Skye Clanton, owners of Clanton Farms in Hermitage.
The Clanton family — five generations’ worth — has been farming since the 1940s and grows some 500 acres of tomatoes and other produce, including cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, cabbage and watermelons. The family also grows other tomato varieties, including Bradley, Ramblers, Roadsters and Pony Express.
In 2024, the first box of tomatoes — all Roadster variety — was delivered Memorial Day weekend by Brad Harrod Farms & Hermit Corner Produce.
Despite rain and cool temperatures, “the season is running a little bit earlier than usual,” said John Gavin, Bradley County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “We’ve really had some good-looking plants and the plants are running about a week ahead of schedule.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Gavin said Arkansans looking for state-grown tomatoes can expect to see some in the week following Memorial Day.
“Once that first box is out, that’s what encourages farmers to get out and really start looking at their tomatoes,” he said.
Gavin said local farmers were growing a mix of large round fresh market, plum, grape and Roma tomatoes, but there are three varieties that are increasingly popular among growers: Roadster, Rambler and the Thunderbird.
Thunderbirds and Ramblers produce flavorful extra-large to jumbo tomatoes, while Roadster plants produce a little smaller extra-large fruit with excellent flavor. Not so common are varieties that produce extremely large fruit.
“Our tomatoes are coming down in size a little bit, mainly because of market demand,” he said. “Consumers don’t want them so big that when you take a slice of it, you couldn’t see the bread.”
Fans of Bradley Pinks and Red Defenders need not worry. Farmers are growing those, too, Gavin said.
Like row crop farmers, tomato growers worry about downward pricing.
“Tomatoes coming in from Mexico sure do put a lot of price pressure on domestic tomatoes, including ones grown in Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina,” he said.
Despite the concerns, “the plants are looking pretty good and things are going pretty smooth, so we’re very optimistic.”
According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, the U.S. production value of tomatoes for the fresh market was approximately $715.63 million.
LONG HISTORY
Tomatoes have a long history in Bradley County, with farmers there raising them to sell since the 1920s. The variety of choice was a tomato that was picked when the bottom of the fruit just began to develop a pink blush. Bradley County celebrates that tomato with its 69th annual Pink Tomato Festival on June 13-14. The festival celebrates the pink tomato with food, music, a parade, pageants and fireworks on June 12-14.
In 1987, the legislature declared the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato as the state fruit and vegetable.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact a local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.
Mary Hightower is with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.