Tomato Harvesting in Woodland, California

September 21, 2019

At the location of the graveside service west of Woodland, California, we were on a hill overlooking a vast tomato field. We were told that most of the tomato harvest was under contract to the Campbell Soup Company, and that was believable. What was almost unbelievable was the scale of the process and the way they filled trailerloads of red tomatoes.

This vast field is a tomato field! Looking closely will reveal a little red in the vastness, but the scale of the process is astounding! The distant double-trailer trucks are full of red tomatoes!

With full tomato trucks in the distance on the other end of the field, a tractor with two empty wagons heads toward this end to provide them to the harvestors. The tomato plants are in neat rows so that the tractor tires can straddle them.

Two harvesting rigs can be seen in the distance, with the harvesters moving the tomatoes to the tractor-drawn wagons beside them.

As the rigs get closer, the brilliant red of their tomato load is evident.

This rig has just been supplied with two empty wagons. The red tomato crop is more evident on the ground at this angle.

A harvester has filled two wagons. Empty wagons on the way.

Two harvesters. Full wagons in the distance, tomatoes launching into closer wagon.

Harvester apparently cuts one row and then handles the foliage to then eject the tomatoes into the wagon.

The material going up his chute looks like mostly green foliage. Impressive that you can get the tomatoes out of that mix.

The tomato belt appears to be fixed on the harvester. The tractor driver has to adjust the wagon position for proper filling.

Aha! There is a workman in line before the conveyer belt to the wagon. It appears to be free of foliage coming to him on a wide belt, but he may be sorting for rotten tomatoes or green ones. It's also clear now that the harvester straddles three rows, but is apparently harvesting only the center one.

Pretty neat to get this kind of cascade of red tomatoes into the trailer while rolling down the field! Looking closely, you can see that there are a few green tomatoes in the cascade, but it's still very impressive.

Quite a cascade of tomatoes. That sorter is dealing with a lot of tomatoes!

Quite a harvesting rig! I know a lot more about tomato harvesting than I did. There are some similarities in principle with the rice harvesting we did with Brent and Bobby.

Two full trailer loads of tomatoes head out of the field. Soon to be Campbell Soup?