Tomato Demand Grows

The Sacramento Bee reports:

After an extraordinary jump in tomato exports in 2008, California canneries are paying record prices and asking farmers to deliver a record crop.

But drought is squeezing planting in key parts of the Central Valley, and it's not clear the state will be able to deliver on the 26.6 billion-pound request.

With prices up 17 percent over last year, though, tomatoes are sprouting wherever there's water, from Sutter County to Delta islands and the Salinas Valley.