It is time again for tomato harvest here in the Central Valley of California. At this time of year we see a lot of tomato trucks on the roads and in the fields.

This evening on my way to Patterson I snapped a few quick pictures as I drove by one of the fields that was being harvested.

Here you can see tomato bins lined up ready to be hauled to the processing plant.

Here you see a tandem that is full and ready to move.

Here is a tandem that is ready to be filled with a filled tandem behind. It is interesting to watch the harvesters fill the trailer bins as they are pulled by tractors. Once they are filled they are parked where they can be hitched to a truck.

Here is a shot of a truck hauling the tomatoes to the processing plant. You always see them as a tandem. I have yet to see a truck pulling a single.

In this picture you see a mobile light. When I passed by again a couple hours later the light was on and they were continuing the harvest and transport of the tomatoes after dark. I remember my days working the wheat harvest back in Kansas and we would work as late as we possibly could. It was usually not darkness that brought an end to the day, but other environmental factors like humidity.

The tomatoes being harvested here are destined for the cannery. More than 90% of the canned tomatoes in the US come from California.

Steven