Production of canning tomatoes is an important enterprise on many farms in Utah. In 1949 this crop brought about $1,772,000 and in 1951, nearly $2,750,000 to the farmers of the state (appendix table 1). Nearly all the canning tomatoes of the state are produced in the counties at the west of the Wasatch Mountains. In order of importance, these are: Davis, Weber, Utah, Box Elder, and Salt Lake (appendix table 2). Since tomatoes are processed relatively close to where they are grown, the income to farmers is not a complete measure of the importance of the tomato enterprise to this area.
The degree of success attained in tomato production varies rather widely among farmers. Some growers apparently produce tomatoes at a profit regularly year after year, while others seemingly make no profits. The reasons for this have not been well known. The exact requirements, costs, and returns have not been known on a comprehensive scale. Comparisons with other enterprises that are, or might be, conducted on the same farms have been limited by lack of specific data. In an endeavor to obtain a better understanding of the problems, the officers of the Davis County Canning Crops Association, and the county agricultural agent, requested the Agricultural Experiment Station to study the economics of producing tomatoes. This is a report of the study that followed. It covers the crops produced in 1948 and 1949.
Morrison, Earnest M. and Blanch, George T., "Bulletin No. 355 - An Economic Study of the Production of Canning Tomatoes in Utah, 1948 and 1949" (1952). UAES Bulletins. Paper 317.