SENATOR COLLINS VISITS BACKYARD FARMS IN MADISON

U.S. Senator Susan Collins recently visited Backyard Farms in Madison, the largest greenhouse grower of vine-ripened tomatoes in New England. Senator Collins met with President and CEO Roy Lubetkin and members of Backyard Farms' staff, who guided her on a tour of Greenhouse 2, an 18-acre facility that opened in September 2009. Senator Collins also got a first-hand look at the tomato packaging and shipping facility, which helps ensure the freshest product possible by shipping them the day they are picked to stores no more than a day's drive away.

The greenhouses collect rainwater and snowmelt to use for irrigation, house 8,000 bumblebees to pollinate the tomatoes, and use special UV grow lights and high-tech monitoring to produce top-quality tomatoes. This equipment allows the greenhouses to produce all year round, making them 20 times more productive than traditional farming methods. The entire facility spans the size of 32 football fields and harvests about 150,00 pounds of ripe tomatoes each day, and 20 million pounds per year.

During her visit, Senator Collins noted that in addition to producing a high-quality, locally grown product, Backyard Farms is an important employer of 200 people in Central Maine. "The addition of Greenhouse 2 in September created 75 new jobs - jobs that are valuable to our economy, particularly during these tough economic times," she said. "Backyard Farms is a true Maine success story."