Heirloom tomatoes are appealing to consumers, but their production characteristics cause producers to be unprofitable.  The Wayne County ANR agent conducted tomato trials for a couple of decades looking for a solution.  Finally he found two heirloom crosses that helped solve the problem.  They are Mt Rouge which is a Pink Brandywine cross with North Carolina State variety.  It is very vigorous growing, very disease resistant, very high yielding over a long growing season and winner of many taste tests.  The other variety is a cross with an heirloom similar to Mr. Stripey called Buffalosun that produces large yields of large tomatoes with a strong shoulder to improve handling and shipping.  It has excellent taste appeal, long shelf life and very high yields in a long growing season. It is an All American Selection Winner.  He grew trial size amounts of plants of these two varieties and gave them to commercial growers, high tunnel growers, and home gardeners to try.  They were an overwhelming hit among these growers and their reputation spread by word of mouth at Farmers Markets, Roadside Markets and with home gardeners.  These growers now order plants of these varieties from their favorite plant grower.  Sales of these tomatoes at Farmers Markets and Roadside Markets had greatly improved the producers profitability.

Provide a Statement of Outcomes or Program Impact. Please note that the outcomes statement must use evaluation data to describe the change(s) that occurred in individuals, groups, families, businesses, or in the community because of the program/outreach.