70 years of tomato farming on Camp Pendleton to end
AGRICULTURE: 70 years of tomato farming on Camp Pendleton to end
Harry Singh & Sons give up lease, citing rising costs, competition
By PAT MAIO - pmaio@nctimes.com
April 13, 2011 8:52 pm
Harry Singh & Sons, one of the largest suppliers of vine-ripened tomatoes in the United States and a fixture in North San Diego County for more than 70 years, announced Wednesday that it would not grow tomatoes this year, citing tough economic times and competition.
A swath of 350 acres of the grower's land leased from Camp Pendleton will be returned, ending a legacy of contract farming with the Marines. A base official said the Marines will use the land to expand "mock village" training programs needed to teach troops about what to expect in Afghanistan.
"Camp Pendleton is no longer interested in leasing the land. Close-out actions are being coordinated with Harry Singh & Sons management to that end," a base official said.
In an email distributed to employees and others, Krishna Singh, general manager and a member of the third generation of Singh farmers, wrote, "I regret to inform you that effective immediately, Harry Singh & Sons farming partnership will not be in operation for the 2011 season. We will work diligently and explore all options in our efforts to reorganize and resume farming operations for 2012."
The company notified the majority of its 87 full-time employees that they would be laid off this week.
"Saying goodbye to our employees is the saddest aspect of closing down the farming partnership," said Harry Singh Jr., president of Harry Singh & Sons, and a son of the founder.
"Many of our employees have worked for decades side by side with members of the family. Some are second- and third-generation workers who have grown up with us ---– and stuck with us during good times and bad," he said.
Some employees will stay on for some time.
"There will be a core (number of employees) there as the business closes down," said Barbara Metz, a company spokeswoman.
The decision to close reverberated in local agriculture circles.
"It's a sad commentary on where we are with farming," said Eric Larson, executive director of San Diego County Farm Bureau. "It's a tough time for farmers."
"I was shocked when I heard," said Frank Lopez, a sales representative with Carlsbad-based Aviara Parkway Farms Inc., which grows strawberries locally. "They were the No. 1 grower in San Diego County."
"It's absolutely devastating how much this will affect not only the economy of San Diego, but the buyers (for food supply chains) that depend on the product," said John Unger, a former strawberry and tomato salesman in the 1970s who turned to selling avocados for Eco-Farms Avocado Inc. in Temecula.
"They were one of the biggest growers," he said of Singh. "They sold to retail outlets everywhere from the (San Francisco) Bay to the Pacific Northwest. He (Harry Singh Sr., the founder) was a tremendous packer in quality. It'll be hard to replace."
"It's sad. It's very difficult," said Bill Wilber, president of Oceanside Pole Tomato Sales, a casualty of the closing. Oceanside Pole handles sales of the Singh tomatoes to grocery store and fast-food chains in the U.S., Canada, Japan and Mexico.
"We will close down Friday, button things up properly and get things accomplished, like calling our customers and letting them know what is happening," Wilber said.
The family-owned Harry Singh & Sons, which has grown tomatoes and other crops on 1,000 acres at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside and Bonsall for 70 years, announced in late March that it would restructure its operation in response to a "variety of economic conditions" to reflect a rising tide of imports from Mexico, along with higher fuel, labor and water costs.
Ed Beckman, president of the California Tomato Farmers, a cooperative in Fresno whose growers represent 85 percent of the state's tomato producers, characterized the announcement as "a sad one" not only for Oceanside, but also for California's agricultural community.
"We've seen, over the years, a dramatic reduction in tomato production in Orange County and now, San Diego County. Urban encroachment and competition from Mexico, along with California's regulatory environment, are all making it difficult for California farming to be economically sustainable," Beckman said.
"When 70-year-old multigeneration farming families vanish, it's a sign that all Californians should take note of," he said. "Some of California's farmers, long leaders in sustainable agriculture, are finding it difficult to achieve economic sustainability in today's economic climate."
Beckman said that he is hopeful that Harry Singh & Sons can successfully reorganize and "once again be able to farm in San Diego County."
The Singh family has farmed the land since 1940, when Harry Singh Sr. arrived after working his way across the United States from Florida, after immigrating from India at age 16.
He was allowed to build a house on Camp Pendleton, where he raised his family and grew vegetables, tomatoes being the major crop. Smaller crops have included celery, peppers and strawberries.
Harry Singh Sr., the family patriarch, died at age 81 in 1982, but not before the well-heeled business owner was invited to sit in the second row of President Ronald Reagan's first inauguration.
Harry Singh Jr., the president of the farming enterprise, and his sons, David, Krishna, Priya and Omar, own or lease land on Camp Pendleton, Oceanside and Bonsall.
"After Harry Singh & Sons allowed the former lease agreement to expire, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton elected to reserve its right to utilize the land for training requirements that promotes the combat readiness of the operating forces and meets the mission training needs of various commands," a base official said.
The base is expected to upgrade training facilities needed to help troops better confront hazardous situations, including "mock Afghanistan villages" with dummy roadside bomb labs, hidden weapons caches and machines that produce 25 smells commonly experienced in Afghan villages.
The farm, which was started by Harry Singh Sr. in 1940, grows about 4 1/2 million cartons of tomatoes annually. A carton weighs between 22 and 26 pounds.
Tomato growers in California ---- like avocado growers locally ---- have faced stiff competition from central Mexico and have struggled to cope with rising water costs.
Beckman said that tomato growers have seen a fairly significant increase in tomatoes coming into the United States; about a 30 percent increase in shipments through McClellan, Texas, the border crossing for shipping tomatoes north out of Mexico.
Beckman said Mexico invested $51 million in greenhouse construction in 2009, and that tomato production from that capital investment is beginning to pay off ---- despite a freeze that slowed the flow in December and January.
Harry Singh & Sons isn't the first tomato operation to be affected by imports and rising costs. A year ago, Gargiulo Inc., a Fresno-based tomato producer, restructured its business.
Call staff writer Pat Maio at 760-740-3527.
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