Huge tomato crop loss due to disease

Organic farms in Tompkins County have been hit hard this year by late blight, a disease that infects tomato and potato plants.  

At least 10,000 plants were infected with late blight in this county, according to an informal survey of growers by Monika Roth, CCE-TC Agriculture Development Specialist.  "At a yield of 35-45 lbs per acre and an average price of $3 per pound, that is a loss of $1.2 million in income for local farms," she said.  

"Many growers are very diversified, so every year they are short on something and long on other crops," Roth said. "However, this year is significant because the weather also wiped out other crops. Onions were hard hit with gray mold (called Botrydis). Some folks suffered fruit losses (strawberries and blueberries) because of all the rain. The challenges of farming certainly were evident this season."