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News

Morning Star Tomato Bites: May 2025

08/05/2025 - Press release , Madeleine Royère-Koonings
Morning Star colleague James Sherwood is back with another TOMATO BITES by Morning Star update. In this edition, he shares a look at the final stages of transplanting across California’s tomato fields, the newly finalized CTGA base price for 2025, and what recent tariff discussions could mean for the industry. Plus, we head to the field to explore Morning Star’s latest trials in mechanical weeding and transplant automation.
 
 

 
Hi everyone—this is James Sherwood from the Morning Star Packing Company with your May 2025, Tomato Bites update.
 
We’re now entering the final stretch of transplanting operations, with just a small percentage of fields left to plant. So far, things have progressed steadily, staying mostly on schedule despite a few rain-related pauses along the way.
 
Over the past couple of months, California’s Central Valley has seen a wide range of weather patterns. An atmospheric river in mid-February, brought record rainfall. The rainfall was followed by a warm and dry start to transplanting season.  Conditions quickly shifted in March and April, with cooler weather and additional rainfall. In recent weeks, things have turned a corner, with temperatures climbing into the low 80s—ideal for the young tomato plants to take root across the Valley.  Our teams are now gearing up for the start of the 2025 harvest and processing season.
 
As for water, the outlook is encouraging. Thanks to a wet winter and spring, statewide reservoir storage is strong—currently at 118% of state historical average. The Sierra snowpack remains solid as well, which means we’re in good shape heading into the dry season. The State Water Project has recently raised its forecast allocation to 50% --- a positive sign for agricultural supply.
 
Last week California’s tomato growers and processors reached an agreement at $109.00 a ton for 2025 conventional production, which is $3.50 a ton less than 2024.  Agreement on a fair price is crucial for California’s tomato growers and processors, and worldwide tomato ingredient customers. The $109 dollar per ton price for 2025, reflects a strong commitment to the California processing tomato industry, and keeps processing tomatoes a competitive crop in California. The 2025 conventional price also reflects the necessity to keep the price of tomato ingredients reasonable for consumers as a staple for families across the world.  Negotiations for the 2025 organic price is advancing with a final competitive price expected in the next couple of weeks.
 
Last week the California League of Food Producers (CLFP) had a panel of experts provide insights on how the recent tariffs might impact the California tomato industry both domestically and internationally.  Fortunately, consensus is that from a domestic standpoint, tariffs are only impacting consumers if the tomato products they use are sourced from other countries.  Internationally, we are keeping a close eye on Mexico and Canada tariffs and engaging to minimize any potential impact. 
 
Now, let’s head out to the field with my colleague Eric Kennedy, who’s sharing a look at some of the innovation and R&D activities Morning Star is advancing this season.
 
Hello everyone, this is Eric Kennedy with the Morning Star Packing Company, checking in from Clarksburg, California - standing in a field that was planted just a few weeks ago.
 
At Morning Star, we’re always exploring new and innovative ways to support our growers and improve our operations. Staying at the forefront of agricultural technology is a big part of that commitment.
 
One of the exciting advancements we’re trialing this season is mechanical weeding. Traditionally, removing weeds between plants has been done by hand—a labor-intensive and costly process. With mechanical weeders, we can automate this task, helping growers save on labor while also improving field conditions ahead of harvest.
 
Another example of how we are keeping our finger on the pulse of new technology is with our continued investment and utilization of state-of-the-art automated transplanters. These machines allow us to operate more efficiently during the transplanting season, reducing both labor requirements and associated costs.
 
But our push for innovation doesn’t stop with automation. We’re also advancing the future of tomato production through our variety trialing program. This long-running initiative tests dozens of experimental tomato varieties each year, identifying those that offer the best yields, quality, and consistency.
 
As we continue testing these technologies and trialing new tomato varieties, our focus remains the same—supporting our growers and delivering consistent value to our customers. There’s still plenty of season ahead, and we’re looking forward to seeing how these efforts play out in the field and our factories.

At Morning Star, we remain focused on strengthening our supply chain to proactively meet the natural challenges of agriculture.  From expanding our grower network and enhancing our tomato procurement efforts, to equipping growers with forward-thinking tools and practices, we’re investing in long-term resilience and sustainability—ensuring a dependable supply for our customers, season after season. 
 
For the latest updates on market pricing, please visit our website. We’ll report back in June with the latest National Agricultural Statistics Service Report and California League of Food Producers Stock on Hand update. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Source: The Morning Star Packing Company
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