The humble tomato took center stage in Boston this week, as the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) put on its 40th annual Massachusetts Tomato Contest. Farmers from across the state submit their best tomato crops each year in hopes of scoring high marks in categories like flavor, weight, and slice-ability.
This year, one Western Massachusetts farm trounced the competition when it came to the Heirloom tomato category: Red Fire Farm in Granby. They scored both first and second place for their Brandywine and Purple Zebra tomatoes, respectively.
Red Fire is no stranger to great tomatoes, winning top marks from the state for their cherry tomatoes back in 2023. Their expansive tomato crop is a special focus of owner and manager Ryan Voiland, who runs the farm with his wife Sarah.
"Tomatoes are certainly one of my passions," Voiland explained. "And we typically plant probably, 50 or 60 or up to 100 varieties a year between all the different cherry tomatoes and slicing tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes that we grow."
But simply growing a large number of tomatoes doesn't mean they'll automatically produce the best in the state. Voiland says the farm has taken the time to understand the best growing techniques, in an attempt to create the conditions that will produce the tastiest fruit.
"I find a lot of times the very best quality fruit are the ones that come off of our high tunnels where we can control the humidity and the conditions, and water them a little more precisely," Voiland says. "The best tasting tomatoes tend to be ones that are not over-watered"
While there's no cash prize for a winning tomato, the bragging rights of scoring first place in any category can sometimes translate into more business for the farm.
"There's a lot of people who recognize Red Fire Farm as a really good source of getting really good tomatoes," according to Voiland. "Hopefully we'll see people coming to seek out the best there is in Massachusetts."
And that's the ultimate goal of the Massachusetts Tomato Contest: highlight farmers in the Commonwealth, and hopefully encourage residents to check out local produce that could be grown just a few miles away.
"It started just as a fun way to promote the summer season with one of our biggest and most popular summertime crops, which is tomatoes," says David Weber, program director at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. "We of course want consumers to shop with Massachusetts farms when they can, either through farmers markets, local farm stands, or community supported agriculture programs. So this is just a way to raise awareness of different ways folks can find local produce."
The contest began back in 1985, when the agency — then called the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture — teamed up with the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association to develop a fun and novel way to showcase popular summer crops. Tomatoes made perfect sense.
"Tomatoes are one of our larger vegetable and fruit crops that are produced in Massachusetts," Weber elaborated. "We have about 739 farms growing tomatoes each year, with over five million pounds produced with a current value of about $12 million. So it is one of our bigger vegetable crops produced in the state and one of the larger crops that many of the farms grow compared to other fruit or vegetable crops."
Now, 40 years later, the annual contest has garnered a dedicated crowd of tomato enthusiasts. Fresh off their victory, Voiland says Red Fire Farm plans to show off their Brandywine and Purple Zebra tomatoes like a badge of honor.
"I think we'll put them on display at the store, so people can get at them. We'll try to get those varieties out on special display in particular," he said.
Disclaimer: Red Fire Farm is an underwriter of NEPM. The newsroom operates independently.
