West Coast Tomato in Florida: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
West Coast Tomato, part of the McClure Farms family enterprise in Palmetto, is a Florida tomato grower and packer with five generations of family involvement. A 2017 Vegetable Growers News profile put its acreage at about 3,000 acres across two Florida counties, and the company won the 2017 4R Advocate Award for nutrient management.
| Location | Palmetto, Florida; also Immokalee, Florida |
|---|---|
| Founded | Family roots in Florida tomatoes since the mid-1920s, per Vegetable Growers News |
| Sectors | Mature green tomatoes; Roma tomatoes; packing and shipping |
| Scale | About 3,000 acres in two Florida counties, as reported in 2017 |
| Why it is notable | 2017 4R Advocate Award for nutrient management; long-running family grower-packer; Lipman Family Farms markets its fall and winter round and Roma crop |
| Ownership | Family-owned; a fifth generation directs operations |
| Official website | Vegetable Growers News profile of McClure Farms and West Coast Tomato |
History of West Coast Tomato
According to Vegetable Growers News, John McClure moved from Virginia to Florida in the mid-1920s to work as an Extension agent. He later worked with his father-in-law, who grew tomatoes, and began growing his own. After World War II his son Dan Peyton McClure started farming with him, and Dan and Corrine Anderson built a packinghouse. Their youngest son D.C. McClure joined full-time in 1976 as manager and head of production.
The company has since added an Immokalee operation, where it has grown tomatoes since the late 1980s, and a fifth generation of the family now directs operations. A more recent trade announcement describes West Coast Tomato as a Florida company that has farmed in the state for 80 years, led by Dan McClure, with farming and packinghouse operations in Palmetto and Immokalee and Bob Spencer as president.
What West Coast Tomato Grows and Raises
West Coast Tomato grew mature green tomatoes for decades and added Roma tomatoes in 2000. By 2017 Romas made up about a third of production, up from a quarter, because of their longer shelf life and easier handling. Fields use plastic mulch, and the shipping season runs from mid-October to mid-June. The company employs a food safety director.
The operation diversifies by region and commodity. It has tried summer production in California, northern Florida and south Georgia, and double-cropped cucumbers and watermelons, and dropped them when they did not pay, a candid example of testing and then cutting. Farm manager Gary Reeder and the company won the 2017 4R Advocate Award, which recognizes nutrient management using the right source, rate, time and place.
How West Coast Tomato Makes Money
Retail, foodservice and wholesale
The company sells to retail, foodservice, re-packers and other wholesale customers, according to Vegetable Growers News.
Marketing partnership
Lipman Family Farms announced that it will sell and market West Coast Tomato's round and Roma crop for the fall and winter seasons, a way to place a large packed crop through an established marketer in the colder months when supply is tighter.
Community and food recovery
Bob Spencer, vice president of sales, was recognized by the Florida Association of Food Banks for contributions to Farmers Feeding Florida, a food recovery and donation program that keeps good produce out of the waste stream.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from West Coast Tomato
The first lesson is to keep testing and be willing to stop. The McClure family tried summer production and double-cropping, then pulled back when prices or returns did not work, protecting the core winter tomato business.
Second, product mix follows handling economics: shifting more acres to Roma tomatoes for shelf life and easier handling is a practical response to buyers' needs. Third, partnering with a larger marketer for part of the crop and joining food recovery programs both build relationships beyond the field.
The McClure story begins with an Extension agent who moved to Florida in the 1920s and ended up farming tomatoes, which proves that giving advice and then trying it yourself is one very successful career path. When the packing season closes in June, farm.FM supplies farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes with a far longer shelf life than a mature green.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact West Coast Tomato
Website: https://vegetablegrowersnews.com/article/florida-family-farm-innovates-stay-competitive/
No official website, address, phone or email appeared in the sources reviewed, so the best verified public page is listed. Details were not independently confirmed in November 2026; acreage and crop mix are from a 2017 profile.
West Coast Tomato Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Vegetable Growers News: Florida family farm innovates - 2017 profile of McClure Farms and West Coast Tomato
- Perishable News: Bob Spencer award - Florida Association of Food Banks recognition
- And Now U Know: Lipman and West Coast Tomato - Fall and winter marketing partnership
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - National and Florida farm statistics
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Searchable vegetable production data
West Coast Tomato FAQ
Where is West Coast Tomato?
In Palmetto, Florida, with operations also in Immokalee.
How big is it?
A 2017 profile reported about 3,000 acres in two Florida counties.
What does it grow?
Mature green and Roma tomatoes, shipped from mid-October to mid-June.
Who markets its crop?
It sells to retail, foodservice and wholesale customers, and Lipman Family Farms will market its fall and winter round and Roma crop.
West Coast Tomato shows how a Florida family tomato business adapts its crop mix and partners to stay competitive. Read the Florida farms guide for the state picture and the other operations profiled with West Coast Tomato.