Tingle's tomatoes

15-year-old's Kentucky Proud products will show up on store shelves all over the Commonwealth

By ROGER SNELL, Kentucky Agricultural News

A 15-year-old sophomore at West Jessamine County High School has turned an FFA project into a tomato-growing operation that will reach the shelves at top retailers this fall.

Alex Tingle of Nicholasville will be the focus of promotional efforts related to a restaurant partnership in northern Kentucky and Remke Markets, and the fruit of his labors will appear statewide on shelves of more than 100 Save-A-Lot stores in Kentucky.

“Alex is just one more example of hard work and the support of farm families that make Kentucky Proud succeed so dramatically,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said today.

“You’ve heard me talk about teamwork, and Alex stands as that kind of example,” Commissioner Farmer said. “He took a classroom project to the top of the retail market by networking with my team at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and other Kentucky Proud members.”

Tingle started a major tomato-growing operation as a freshman project, working with his FFA advisor and ag teacher, Ryan Thomas.

“What Alex proposed as a freshman is one of the best project proposals that I’ve seen because of the size, scope and amount of work,” Thomas said.

"He worked many hours into the night. I would have to call him in at 1 in the morning, asking him to quit working and come to bed so he could get some sleep before school,” said his mom, Kathy Fields, who is a principal at West Jessamine County Middle School.

Alex initially planned to have 100 tomato plants at most and figured that he would sell at the local farmers’ market. But Thomas’ ag class didn’t sell all their plants from the greenhouse they run at the school.

At the end of the school year this spring, Alex informed his mom that he was going to bring home all the unsold plants.

“I thought he was talking about another 40 or 50 plants,” Kathy said. “It was 900 total plants, including 700 tomatoes.”

Alex planted everything by hand. He did not have a tractor. He tilled a massive garden space that had been idle pasture for the 13 years the family has lived at their rural Nicholasville home. Previously, they had raised Angus cattle.

Alex and his brother had an earlier farm project when they were younger: “Goats!” Kathy said. “I like tomatoes better. Tomatoes don’t get out, and your neighbors don’t complain about tomatoes loose in their yard.”

Of the 700 tomato plants, 425 are Roma tomatoes, perfect for the pulp that salsa-maker Millard Long of Boone County needs for a number of private-label products he processes.

“As soon as I saw all the blooms, flowers everywhere, I panicked,” Alex said. “‘Mom, can you help?’”

The Tingles know Kevan Evans in Georgetown, owner of Evans Orchard, which also has a country store. Evans couldn’t buy that many tomatoes, but he knew Millard Long through a connection made by Roger Snell of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

Snell networked Long and Evans together more than a year ago to process apple butter for Ale-8-One from apple pulp from 10 orchards left from the cider-making process.

Alex e-mailed Long, and he visited the Tingles at their home, offering to buy all of Alex’s tomato harvest and even some of his peppers.

“For somebody just getting started, he did a thorough job,” Long said. “He had a plan. He took it upon himself to find a market for all of it. He did all of the work by hand. He solicited the help of friends. I’m very impressed with his resourcefulness and the support he got from Ryan [his ag teacher] and his mom.”

Long said he started his processing business with a firm commitment to Kentucky growers. All of his private-label sauces, salsas, apple butter and other products are directly sourced from Kentucky farms in season.

“Alex is 15 now,” Long said. “It is a great feeling to help someone like this out. In 10 years, I may be retired. In 10 years, Alex will be 25 and just the kind of person to take the reins of his own company, processing his own products. His work ethic is what will make the difference.”

Alex traces the hard work of farming to grandparents who raised tobacco in Scott and Jessamine counties, starting with mules.

Long said he has a soft spot for future farmers like Alex and anyone else in the business now. “My parents were farmers, but they had to give it up and go to the city to work,” Long said.

Long closed the deal with Alex after inspecting the farm and seeing that Alex used city water, drip irrigation and had not used any pesticides in the garden during the growing season. In fact, Alex and Ryan are now linking up with Michael Fitzgerald at KDA to see if the entire operation can be certified organic, beginning with the plants and fertilizer in the greenhouse next season.

Alex plans to use the money from Long’s purchases for his college savings. He will major in agriculture and hopes to go to Morehead State University or the University of Kentucky.

Long was a key supplier of one of the single largest transactions in Kentucky Proud’s young history when Save-A-Lot ordered four tractor-trailer loads of Long ’s salsa for its 102 Kentucky stores in August.

As Save-A-Lot prepares to reorder, Alex’s tomatoes will be part of the product. The tomatoes also will go to a major partnership of restaurants in northern Kentucky that are launching a series of retail sauces, salsas and special recipes for sale at retail.

Kroger, Biggs, Meijer and Wal-Mart also are in early stages of launching products processed by Long. Tingle’s tomatoes will be part of six-figure purchases of tomatoes that Long will buy from several central Kentucky farms this year.

To find out more about Kentucky Proud, click here.