Gary Margolis, owner and president of Gem Tomato & Vegetable Sales Inc., headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, told The Produce News that the company’s tomato crops in Michigan got a late start because of the unseasonably cool weather in early spring.

“We were delayed and concerned,” said Margolis. “But once we started moving and got the plants into the ground, the weather turned to what is perfect for growing conditions. The crops are catching up nicely now and we believe we’ll be on schedule.”

Gem Tomato produces all varieties in Michigan, just as it does in its other growing regions of Florida and Arkansas. Working with farming partners, the company produces round, Roma, grape, cherry and yellow tomatoes.

“Individual growers focus on what they do best and this creates a cooperative fashion that enables us to supply the local markets with highest possible quality in every tomato category,” said Margolis.

“The buy-local trend is very strong in Michigan, just as it is nationwide. It creates a major incentive for retailers and foodservice operators to commit to it because they know the advantages, which include reduced trucking miles, supporting local communities, increased freshness and longer shelf life,” he said.

He noted that regarding consumers, they don’t fully realize how difficult it is to deliver local fruits and vegetables. There are some extremely large farms, but the majority of producers are small farming operations, which have to go through a lot to enable them to sell through a company like Gem Tomato.

“I believe the law states that farmers who sell less than $50,000 a year are exempt from food-safety certifications,” he explained. “That means they don’t have the resources to sell to companies like major chains who demand certifications. This has also had an effect on the number of smaller growers, which is continually diminishing.

“In our case, every package must be labeled with the food-safety and traceability certification,” Margolis continued. “Those farms that were totally committed to staying in the business made it a point to comply. We are now fully certified by the Global Food Safety Initiative, which is an even higher level of certification than we had in the past.”

He also pointed out that there is a major labor problem in Michigan, and that in June no one knew if labors would arrive in time to harvest the crop.

As a company that has been dedicated to vine ripe tomatoes for the past 30 years, Margolis said he has seen the demand go full circle during that time.

“We always waited to pick our tomatoes when they were ripe on the vine,” he said. “There is nothing as sweet and delicious as a vine-ripened tomato. Today, vine-ripe tomatoes are the fashionable tomato of choice, and are considered the true specialty tomato. The fact that the open field vine ripe tomatoes have short windows makes them even more special.”

He also said that every tomato grower-shipper thinks that his local tomatoes are the best, but when it comes to reputation, Gem Tomato stands out among the crowd.

“All growers are not equal,” said Margolis. “Tomatoes are a very unforgiving crop. Our growers in Michigan have years of experience and they run highly intensive operations. You have to be extremely dedicated to produce high-quality tomatoes, and anyone who questions this has a lot to learn.”

Gem Tomato’s Michigan crop will run from late July to early August, and will wrap up when the first frost hits the area, typically in October.

“Our distribution range out of Michigan is tighter than in the past,” said Margolis. “We’re shipping to five or six surrounding states. We prefer the term ‘regional’ rather than local, especially taking into consideration that there’s no clear definition for ‘local.’ We have a great niche, a production level that we’re highly pleased with and plenty of demand in our region.”