Mexico: Hot tomatoes closer to Tucson

Those to-die-for tomatoes at local suppliers soon will be picked closer to home - and more available here in peak summer months - as a longtime Mexican grower plans greenhouse operations in Amado that someday could employ more than 200 people. Ground has been broken for the first of five 12-acre greenhouses on a 60-acre spread in Amado, south of Green Valley, purchased from a sister company by Wholesum Family Farms from Sopori Ranch and already undergoing site improvements. Completion of the first greenhouse is expected in August, with production starting in October, involving the transplanting of 15- to 20-inch starts grown from traditionally bred Dutch seed in the company's nursery in Sonora, Mexico, said General Manager Ricardo Crisantes. From seed to harvest takes about 90 days, with the first yield expected at about 9 million pounds, "God willing," Crisantes said.

He estimates the initial workforce will involve 30 to 50 full-time positions. The company will be looking for workers with skills in crop work and backgrounds in horticulture and agronomy who are familiar with growth stages as well as efficient-production practices, and hopes to tap the University of Arizona for resources as future harvest yields multiply. The tomato crop should reach peak production in about five years. Crisantes said the company will begin accepting applications in May, and that as it can afford to expand according to its master plan, may ultimately employ as many as 240. With startup costs exceeding $10 million, that may be several years down the road. "We're not sure how long it will take," Crisantes said. "We're expanding conservatively." Wholesum's Mexican operations, including distribution and production, now employ about 500.

Amado's abundance of sunny days - more than 300 a year - heavily influenced the company's decision to establish a growing operation there. Two varieties will launch the endeavor, beefsteak and vine tomatoes, both of which will be grown according to USDA-certified organic standards and sustainable agricultural practices, in a mix of coco husk and compost, Crisantes said. How the production will affect consumer prices is unknown, as those are set by retailers, and wholesale price is only a small portion of that. But Arizona and other Southwest locales can expect a consistent supply of fresh, flavor-rich tomatoes year round, Crisantes said. The family company and its Wholesum Harvest organic produce brand date back three generations to Ricardo's grandfather Miguel Crisantes Gatzionis, who migrated from Greece to Mexico in the 1920s and began farming in Sinaloa in 1930. His son Theojary (Ricardo's father) became an organic farming pioneer there.

Source: azstarnet.com