June 5, 2020
Season’s first box of tomatoes heralds harvest on the way
By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- First box of the season heralds the coming tomato harvest
- More than 950 acres of tomatoes grown statewide
- Crop typically brings in about $8 million in gate receipts for Bradley County and neighboring counties
(381 words)
(Download this story in MS Word format here.)
WARREN, Ark. — Fans of Arkansas grown and harvested tomatoes, rejoice. The first box of the season has been delivered.
On Wednesday, June 3, members of the Hamilton family, owners of Hamilton Farms, brought a box of freshly-harvested tomatoes in to the Bradley County Cooperative Extension Service office in Warren. Hamilton Farms is located in the nearby Marsden community. They farm about 15 acres of tomatoes, as well as watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, zucchini, cucumber and a variety of peppers.
John Gavin, Bradley County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said that while there’s no cash prize or medal for brining in the first box of tomatoes each summer, growers take the competition seriously nonetheless.
“It signifies that the season is about to open for vine-ripened tomatoes,” Gavin said. “Whoever brings in the first box, they simply get the publicity and the honor of it. And it lets everyone know that in the next five to seven days, we’re going to have more tomatoes ready to ripen and come off the vine.”
The tomatoes were brought in by Don Hamilton, his son Steele, and his grandson David Slade Hamilton.
Overall, about 400-500 acres of tomatoes are grown and harvested in Bradley County each year, with approximately 300 more acres grown in neighboring Ashley and Drew counties. Statewide, Arkansas harvested 952 acres of tomatoes in 2017, according to the 2019 Arkansas Agriculture Profile, available from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture at https://uada.edu/docs/2019-AR-Ag-profile.pdf.
Bradley County is also home to the South Arkansas Vine Ripe pink tomato, which is both the Arkansas state fruit and the Arkansas state vegetable. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 64th annual Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival, originally scheduled for June 12-13, has had to cancel most of its public events. However, the Tour de Tomato Bike Tour, scheduled for June 6, and the Virtual Pink Tomato 5k, scheduled for June 13, are still planned. Find out more about the festival at http://www.pinktomatofestival.com/.
Gavin said tomatoes bring in about $8 million in gate receipts to the tri-county area each year.
“It’s may not be much compared to the row crops counties, but it’s a real economic shot in the arm for us,” he said. “It’s a nice chunk of change down here.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @UAEX_edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
# # #
Media contact:
Ryan McGeeney
Communications Services
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2120
rmcgeeney@uada.edu