Some Thoughts on Tomato Seeds - WayBeyond

I’m pretty sure we take seeds for granted. They are right under our noses, everywhere we turn. From corn, wheat, and cotton to barley and flowers, seeds are the foundation of everything we eat and wear. Seeds become fibres and fabrics to make our clothes, towels, sheets, hats, flags, and so on—they can even be turned into bio-jet fuel.

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Here’s a fantastic fact about Ethiopian mustard seeds for the week: the seed produces less black carbon exhaust than fossil fuel with a higher flash point, which makes it safer to use on Navy ships. Less black carbon equals a cleaner environment.

Rethinking commodities

A very long time ago, way back in 50 BC, salt was used to pay Roman soldiers and was considered white gold because it preserved meat and fish.

Commodities are just the raw materials needed to create many of the products we buy and eat. They range from agricultural products to energy products like oil and natural gas.

There’s no doubt about it - corn, sorghum, barley—are seeds that are commodities. But what if we considered the tomato seed a commodity and traded it like corn? How would this change how food is grown or how resources are used to grow our food? Or even how we thought about the value of seeds in our lives?

The US Department of Agriculture considers seeds and seedlings of agricultural and horticultural plants to be agricultural or horticultural commodities. So we could say tomato seeds ARE a commodity, but they definitely aren’t treated like one.

Tomatoes are the world's most produced fruit. The global tomato seed market is expected to grow from $1.19 billion in to $1.85 billion in six years by . The growth rate of tomato seeds is due to several factors, including the health of the soil, pest control, and water scarcity.  And those climate factors right now are being pushed to the hottest and driest in the countries that grow the bulk of our food globally.

The tomato seed feedback loop.

There really isn’t one. Seed companies have little idea of what happens with the seeds they sell to growers and how productive each seed is on a farm in Mexico versus a farm in Florida versus Morocco.  Why does one variety perform better than another year on year or worse year on year? Where is the aggregated data from each grower from year to year? Tomato Seed A did great, but next year, it’s predicted to be 5% warmer in the same area with less rain, so what will happen to that seed in that harsher environment? Or five years in the future?

No one really knows. Seed producers don’t have the data, not really. They want to believe they know, but how can they? It takes seven to ten years to develop a new seed—a decade. Can you see what the next decade will look like in soil composition? Water availability? It’s educated assumptions.

And, if the intelligent scientists who study soil and water are estimating what soil composition will be like for crops, how can a seed producer who doesn’t know how their seeds perform develop a new seed a decade from now that will grow in that different environment?

We are perpetually behind.

The hard pill to swallow is that mature crops—corn, wheat, barley, sorghum—have become commodities. They are traded on and against—they make up the futures market. But not a futures market a decade in the future. A 10-13 years in the future futures market that says you will need a different seed NOW if you want those crops to grow in a decade from now.

That’s a futures market.

If you have enough customers and data, you could inform a new tradeable commodity—say, tomato seeds. We could begin to trade in tomatoes or blueberries—a horticultural commodity.

But if you have to wait seven to ten years to create a new plant, then it will be too late. The environment you created for that tomato plant to grow in will not exist.

Data + digital twins

Technology can help us prepare for that future, futures market. It would typically take four to six months to understand the outcome of the growth of a tomato seed-to-plant trial in a controlled growth environment.

With data and AI, you could accelerate that process to four to six seconds and factor in varying degrees of water, soil, pests and heat data from actual growers around the world. This data is precisely what a seed producer needs to create that future tomato seed. This not only saves the seed company money but in a very similar approach to pharmaceutical trials for new drug therapies.

This approach could help shape new varieties of seeds that can have higher yields in harsher growing conditions. WayBeyond is already doing this with the billions of data points and more than the 1,600 crop cycles we have gathered on tomato groups globally.

I know that if we were to transform tomato seeds into a real future, futures commodity, we could use both data and AI to shorten the cycle of growing food for the benefit of humanity.

Always growing too many tomatoes in your backyard garden? Here's a great list of 10 real ways you can turn those extra tomatoes into extra homestead income!

I've often talked about my over-the-top love for heirloom tomatoes, and perhaps you've read about my all-time favorite vintage tomato varieties.

For a long time there, I was growing no less than 26 different types of heirloom tomatoes in my big backyard garden, and every year I would end up with bushels, and bushels, and bushels of extra tomatoes.

Even after canning 40+ quarts of tomato sauce and ketchup, and dehydrating oodles of sweet "sun-dried" tomatoes for winter, I could have filled a swimming pool with the tomatoes I had leftover.

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But this was a huge blessing. At the time, I wasn't yet making a full-time income from writing, and really needed multiple ways to make ends meet. So with those extra tomatoes, I set up shop!

With two toddlers, the idea of manning a farmer's market booth by myself was too much. Until my kiddos were old enough to man a cash box, I needed to stick with easy options.

For me, that meant selling them in bulk to people who bought 30-100 pounds at a time. I set the price low enough that customers scored an amazing deal for organically-grown heirloom tomatoes. And I made a very helpful extra stream of income, without ever leaving my home.

I also met some delightful people in the process. Chances are, anyone buying enough tomatoes to fill three canner loads of sauce, is likely to be a kindred spirit!

Selling in bulk is what has worked best for me, but it's far from the only way of making a little extra income from a bumper crop of heirloom tomatoes. If you find yourself with a huge tomato harvest every year, why not try one or two of these ideas?

1. Sell tomatoes from a road side stand

If you live on a road that gets much traffic at all, a roadside stand with an easy-to-read sign could provide all the business you need to sell every extra tomato you have. This post has some helpful tips for setting up a stand and getting started. Pricing tip: Just below supermarket prices.

2. Sell them at a farmer's market

For many small market growers, the local farmer's market can be the perfect opportunity. This free little guide to running a successful farmers' market stand is extra helpful. Pricing tip: about the same as organic supermarket prices.

3. Grow them for another farmer to sell

If you're not into the idea of running your own booth at the farmer's market, sometimes farms make arrangements to buy crops at lower prices from smaller growers, to supplement their own offerings at the market.

It usually is a win-win relationship, for both growers! Pricing tip: about 30% below final market price, enough to allow profit margin for the reseller.

4. Save and sell pure heirloom seeds

It's easier than you might think to get started growing and seed-saving for a seed company. Dan Brisebois shares his down-to-earth story of getting started raising crops for seed in this helpful post. You might also find that people are eager to buy them directly from you - at your roadside stand, if you have one, or even by mail.

5. Sell to customers in bulk

This has been my favorite method. I set my prices low, to make it worthwhile for folks to come out to my home. I think of it this way - if I didn't have my own garden, what price would make it worth my time to drive to a stranger's house and buy a huge box of tomatoes? For my area in rural Maine, that's $1 per pound.

That might not seem like much, but if you're selling several hundred pounds, without having to home, it can be a great arrangement for everyone involved. Pricing tip: whatever gets you a steady stream of customers, when advertised on Facebook and Craigslist

6. Sell wholesale to grocery stores

You might think you need to be a huge grower to sell to a grocery store, but for many grocery chains, that's not the case. Even if you're only growing enough tomatoes for one or two stores, they may be very happy to work with you. This page has lots of helpful resources for pursuing this option. Pricing tip: significantly lower than the final grocery store price.

7. Sell your extra seedlings

You're starting lots of seedlings for your own garden anyway, why not start enough to sell? I love this story about how Pat Kennedy got started selling tomato plants - and she shares some great tips she's learned along the way! Pricing tip: equal to, or a little higher than, big box store pricing in your area.

8. Sell directly to local chefs

The field-to-table movement has caught on like wildfire, and just continues to grow. Chefs at some of the best restaurants in your area might be thrilled to get their hands on your colorful, flavorful heirlooms!

For some good tips on getting started and maintaining great relationships with restaurants, check out this post. Pricing tip: about 25% above local wholesale prices.

9. Breed your own new tomato variety

This one's not going to make you any money right away - but if you selectively breed for traits you love, then stabilize your new variety for several generations, it might offer a nice little stream of income several years from now.

I'm trying my hand at this myself, and am on the F3 generation of a really fun little tomato. Pricing tip: most backyard breeders I know charge $3 - $5 per packet.

10. Donate in bulk to a local nonprofit

Giving tomatoes to the local food pantry doesn't sound like a way to make income, but when you consider that you can claim the donation of that produce on your tax return, it can really add up to significant money saved!

This is the best guide I've seen with advice about produce donation.  Don't forget to get a signed acknowledgment from the food pantry or soup kitchen staff - you'll need it for your tax return documentation! Pricing tip: Free, but be prepared with the local market value as you're creating a receipt for the food pantry.

Those are my ten best ideas for making some extra income with all those heirloom tomatoes you might be growing anyway! I'm sure there are plenty more, that I've not yet imagined.

Do you have creative ways you make a little extra cash from your bumper tomato crop? Share your ideas in the comments!

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