Page 2—Grower and Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 11, 1999
Tomato Council Ensures Uniform Pack
(Continued from Page 1)
including grading, packing, and
shipping.
The Jersey Tomato, a regis
tered trademark, and the Jersey
Plum Tomato have to undergo
special procedures to qualify
for packing by the Council. The
tomatoes are to be stake-grown
with scheduled, staggered
plantings for consistent supply
throughout the season in plastic
mulch with drip irrigation. The
tomatoes have to be picked
vine-ripened, and the grower
must use integrated pest man
agement and nutrient manage
ment procedures.
Buyer benefits include high
quality tomatoes with longer
dielf life and consistent daily
supplies. The method is proven
in producing quality tomatoes.
The tomatoes are picked firm
but at a stage to ensure full fla
vor. The tomatoes are of uni
form grade, size, and color,
with PLU labels attached.
There are three grades. The
first, Premium, packs tomatoes
in 20-pound, two-layer contain
ers. The second grade is Qual
ity, packed in 25-pound place
pack, including XL, Jersey XL,
and Jumbo, and a consumer
pack, large. The third grade is
Chef's Choice, a 25-pound
pack with XL, Jersey XL, and
Jumbo.
About 60 percent of the pro
duct is marketed and shipped to
New York and Philadelphia
areas. They also market toma
toes to Miami, areas east of the
Mississippi, western Pennsyl
vania, New England states, and
occasionally west of the;
Mississippi.
Neary noted the Council
works closing with large chain
stores and other retailers. The
Council is looking for good,
quality tomatoes, those that are
firm, don’t crack, with a good
nnal color, good taste, and
overall good yield, he said.
Growers represent 375-400
acres, including plum
tomatoes.
Workers pack about 1,200
tomatoes per hour, or about
' /
Seabrook Brothers, in Seabrook, N J., packs a lot of
different vegetable items for a variety of customers in
the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast From left, Chet Naksi,
Andrew Carpenter, and Jim Seabrook Jr.
10,000-14,000 tomatoes per
day, at the Cedarville process
ing facility.
With the PLU and pack num
bers, the Council can track the
inventory to the pallet level,
Neary said.
Only recently the Council
started to contract for and grow
asparagus, marketed also to
chains. About 100-110 acres of
asparagus have been packed.
Neary noted that more toma
toes are in demand than ever
before. Per-capita consumption
of tomatoes have risen from 15
pounds to 18 pounds.
Tomatoes, when they are
brought in, are cleaned in a
water bath, though they can
also be spray-washed. The
temperature is dropped to about
65 degrees to slow ripening
until they arrive at the chain
distribution houses. The chains
“want full-color tomatoes,”
Neary said.
The Council owns the equip
ment and bins, but not the facil
ity. The 30,000-square-foot
facility was constructed at a
cost of about $700,000.
Seabrook Brothers, in Sea
brook, N. J., packs a lot of diffe
rent vegetable items for a varie
ty of customers in the Mid-
Atlantic and Northeast.
Seabrook began growing
vegetables in 1893 by Charles
F. Seabrook, a pioneer in agri
culture, the commercial freez
ing of vegetables, and the deve
lopment of the nursery industry
in South Jersey.
Seabrook’s research on get
ting fresh vegetables to more
consumers led to the develop
ment of frozen food processing,
which began on a large scale in
1931. He founded Seabrook
Farms Corp. near Bridgeton in
1933. Until 1976, according to
the PVGA, the firm was one of
the largest farming and frozen
foods operations in the United
States, controlling production
of mote than 30,000 acres of
vegetable crops.
In 1978, thee grandsons of
Seabrook started Seabrook
Brothers and Sons and con
structed a frozen vegetable pro
cessing plant in Upper Deer
field Township at a cost of $9.2
million. The plant freezes snap
beans, spinach, collards, mus-
3
All the major southern greens are processed at the plant, which employs
600 and 480 year-round. “We packsoo,ooo pounds of green beans a day,” said
Jim Seabrook, Jr. Drew Norman, White Hall, Md., looks at the beans.
We’re
Breaking
New
Ground.
Disc Harrows
• 5'2", 6'4" or 8' widths
• Adjustable gang angles
• 18" Notched or smooth disc blades, 22" on 8'
• Break up the ground with a heavy-duty frame and
heat-treated disc blades
• Ideal for landscapers and small acreage farmers
Betts Equipment
3139 Windy Bush Road.Rt 232
New Hope, PA 18938
215-598-7501
Hoober, Inc.
Mam Street
Intercourse, PA 17534
717-768-8231
Hoober, Inc.
East Main Street
McAlisterville, PA 17049
717-463-2191
Deerfield Ag &
Turf Center. Inc
RR 2 Box 212
Watsontown, PA 17777
570-538-3557
Detlan Equipment, Inc
141 East Main St
Silverdale, PA 18962
215-257-5177
Thomas L Dunlap
Rt 220, Mam St Exit
Jersey Shore, PA 17740
570-398-1391
tard greens, peppers, peas, and
lima beans. They process more
than 93 million pounds of pro
duce from 22,000 acres, with a
sales value of $6O million.
Eckroth Bros Farm Equip
Rd 2, Box 24A
New Rmgold, PA 17960
570-943-2131
Eckroth Equipment Co
4910 Kernsville Rd
Orefield, PA 18069
610-366-2095
Hines Equipment
RT 220, Belwood, PA
814-742-8171
Keller Brothers
R 7 Box 405
Lebanon, PA 17042
717-949-6501
1950 Fruitville Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
717-569-2500
M.S. Yearsley & Sons
West Chester, PA
610-696-2990
Fikevilie Equipment Inc
RD 2, Oysterdale Road
Oley, PA 19547
610-927-6277
All the major southern
greens are processed at the
plant, which employs 600, and
480 year-round. “We pack
(Turn to Page 6)
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Stoltzfus Farm Service
Cochranville, PA
610-593-2407
Stouffer Bros Inc.
1066 Lincoln Way West
Chambersburg, PA 17201
717-263-8424
Rodio Tractor Sales
North White Horse Pike
Hammonton, N J 08037
609-561-0141
Warren County Service
Center
228 Route 94, Blairtown, N J
908-362-6916
Frank Rymon
& Sons, Inc
RD 3, Box 355
Washington, N J 07882
906-689-1464
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