Weigh-ins are done and results for the third annual Lowndes County Tomato Battle are in. Benny Yarbrough has emerged in first place in both of the designated categories of this year’s contest. Yarbrough’s BHN 446, an orange tomato, topped the field at 18.04 ounces. His Mountain Majesty variety won its category, at 16.53 ounces. The Lowndes County grower was presented with a prize package of gardening supplies and tools from the Lowndes County Extension Service and Lowndes Farm Supply.
The contest kicked off in April with a free tomato seminar and handouts of plants. The annual battle introduces growers to newer disease-resistant varieties of tomatoes, compared to some types growers’ parents and grandparents used, said Extension Agent Reid Nevins.
Yarbrough put about 300 tomato plants in the ground this year. His contest varieties were planted alongside the “everyday” crop; they received no special treatment, he said.
Yarbrough, an avid gardener, grew up on a dairy farm in Winston County. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural fields. This past spring, he completed all requirements for Master Gardener certification. He is a regular vendor at the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market.
“Growing up, we lived on the farm, and we lived by the farm, whatever we produced,” Yarbrough said. The world of agriculture today is vastly different from that era, he added. The sometimes-substitute teacher tells his students that the evolving field merits close attention because “somebody is going to have to feed the world.”
Other results
In the Lowndes County contest for the Mountain Majesty tomato, Frank Golden placed second (14.77 ounces), and James Goldmon was third (14.53 ounces). In the BHN 446 contest, a Northeast District Contest, Goldmon took second (15.19 ounces), and Mary Tuggle placed third (11.10 ounces).
Yarbrough’s BHN tomato is eligible for an award in the Northeast District Contest, but those placings won’t be known until late August, when results from all 22 district counties are in.
For information about the 2017 Tomato Battle or other Extension Service topics, contact Nevins at 662-328-2111 or visit extension.msstate.edu.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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