The use of crop aerial images to improve agricultural practices is becoming increasingly relevant worldwide. A few years ago, crop images were primarily captured using drones and airplanes; however, these technologies have some limitations with the cost and frequency as you cover more extensive areas. One solution to overcome those limitations is the use of satellite images. In the past, the resolution of satellite images was not comparable to the resolution provided by drones and airplanes. However, image resolution has improved significantly in recent years, and satellite images are now close to 10 and 3 meters per pixel.
One of the first things you will notice and remember about Kathy is her robust yet alluring laugh. It wraps around you and pulls you in, creating a sense of closeness and an inevitable bond. One of many reasons she became a foundation upon which Morning Star’s Williams location grew.
As of March 15, 2022, the World Processing Tomato Council estimates the 2022 global tomato crop to increase from 39.2 to 39.7 million metric tonnes. The WPTC does note, however, that real volumes may be less than expected due to political and economic disruptions in growing regions of Ukraine and China. The WPTC met in late March and is expected to detail these forecasts further in light of the current global climate.
Processing tomato growers in California might compare 2022 weather so far to a roller coaster, but with none of the accompanying amusement. Promising rainfall in late 2021 brought encouragement to the industry, only to evaporate quickly. As reported by California Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, the first three months of 2022 were the driest in the state’s history.
As we’ve all experienced in recent months, logistics problems have impacted the movement of products across the industrial landscape. With established U.S. product shipping modes disrupted, rail has become the most efficient option, followed by intermodal and truck transport.
For the United States and a few additional countries, March represents Women’s History Month. This declaration first began in 1978 as “Women’s History Day,” right in our very own backyard in Sonoma County, California. By 1987 the United States declared the entire month of March “Women’s History Month.”
This month’s TOMATO BITES video is more like the WHOLE tomato. The California processing tomato industry is up against some unique challenges, so we’ve changed things up and this time invite you to sit at the table with Morning Star colleagues Aaron Giampietro and Mark De La Mater as they discuss the relevancy and impact of the recent CLFP and USDA NASS reports, as well as highlighting historical trends and anticipated impacts to supply and demand.
In 2010 Nick Clay joined the Morning Star family full-time after working off and on since he graduated high school. He is one of many legacy colleagues now working at Morning Star. His father David was part of the team that built the Williams facility in 1995. Nick’s quiet ambition has taken him from random factory jobs to his current focus on seed sales and tomato variety trials. You may have even seen him as a speaker in our Cal Sun Transplanting video that was released a few years ago.
Morning Star is an ever-evolving enterprise hyperfocused on innovation and resource optimization. We manage the entire tomato journey from seed to packaging and are always looking for new processes and technologies to push us out of our comfort zone and into that next big leap required to ensure a sustainable future.
Morning Stars’ tomato ingredient products begin their journey in the field. Every tomato variety has different characteristics that play a large role in exactly what type of product we are making; from whole peeled tomatoes to paste for ketchup, there is a tomato variety bred explicitly for that purpose.
The Tomato Foundation, founded in 2012, “is an NGO whose primary aim is to initiate scientific research studies which provide credible, supportive evidence focused on key health effects of common plant-based ingredients.” Founder and General Secretary David Sutherland oversees the Foundation.
The most notable changes in production were in the AMITOM region, where production increased by 8%, and in the European Union, up 16%. California had an uncharacteristic decrease by 6% in total production as well as China, producing 17% less than in 2020.
It’s time to close out another California processing tomato year. The 2021 season started with very dry weather for transplanting, a very hot spring and summer, and concluded with an atmospheric river, making these final weeks of the season slightly challenging. All of those issues contributed to a crop total ending 12% under the January 2021 forecast of 12,100,000 short tons.
Colleague Aaron Giampietro is back with another Tomato Bites to discuss the current state of our domestic and worldwide logistics. The Nations consumers see empty store shelves, months of delays for items that used to be in stock, and limited availability of favorite items. This question we are all asking ourselves, “what is going on?”
