JACKSONVILLE, Texas — As we head into the hot summer months, local tomato farmers say the weather hasn’t been too kind to their crops this year.
It was evident over the weekend as Jacksonville welcomed a record high number of guests at the 39th annual Tomato Festival but a record low of Jacksonville tomatoes.
Wanda Guinn, owner of Guinn’s Produce, said Jacksonville is known for growing the best tomatoes in the state, but this year the crop has been thin because of the inclement weather over the last few months.
It caused a significant drop in tomatoes available during the Tomato Fest Saturday.
"It's the first year it's been this bad. It's the first time that you didn't have too many growers down at the Tomato Fest," Guinn said.
Peggy Renfro, president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, said she's never seen the tomato farmers under these conditions.
"First time ever, we didn't have Jacksonville tomatoes, the April hailstorm and the cooler weather really hurts the industry for the tomatoes," Renfro said.
Guinn said the first hailstorm put them three weeks behind, leaving them with just a fourth of what they would normally have this time of year. They’ve been picking tomatoes every other day, trying to keep the stand full.
"Right now, we're picking out of the first crop that you know the hail got. So we're just scrapping out of it until we can get to the second crop," Guinn said.
Renfro said the farmers were working day and night hoping to have the crop they needed.
However, they still came out with some positives with the first being the economic boost of having the biggest Tomato Fest yet. And second, Guinn’s Produce won three first place ribbons, including the best tasting tomato.
Guinn said if the weather allows, they’ll have more tomatoes at the beginning of July.