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Family tree: tomato plant

Paul DiMare isn't nearly as delicate as his specialty. He will keep defending Florida farmers and nurturing a family tradition.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published February 18, 2005

Paul J. DiMare is known in the agriculture industry as Mr. Tomato.

It's a nickname that has stuck with the Florida tomato packer and grower for a long time. DiMare, 63, says he's not entirely sure why friends gave him the nickname.

The reasons, however, are not lost on those who have watched his 76-year-old family produce company blossom into a multimillion-dollar international agribusiness.

Those who know DiMare hail him as the voice of the Florida tomato farmer and an innovative leader in a fast-changing industry. He is the largest grower of fresh-market tomatoes in the United States and one of the country's most influential farmers.

On Tuesday, DiMare earned a place among celebrated farmers when he and four others were honored at the 26th annual Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame banquet during the State Fair. His son and business partner, Tony DiMare, called his induction an honor that was "long overdue."

Katie Edwards, executive director of the Dade County Farm Bureau, said DiMare deserves the agricultural community's highest honor for his passionate defense of Florida agriculture. The bureau nominated him to the Hall of Fame.

"Paul has always been a vocal champion for Florida farmers big and small," Edwards said. "He has never been afraid to put himself in front of the firing squad."

A native of Cambridge, Mass., DiMare has been in the tomato business for as long as he can remember.

When he was 10, DiMare caught a trolley every day after school to the family's tomato repacking plant in South Boston. By then, the family business was a national force in marketing produce, a long way from its humble beginnings when the family sold vegetables from a pushcart on the streets of Boston.

After graduating from Georgetown University, DiMare joined the family business. In the 1960s, by then a husband and a father, he moved to Florida to oversee the tomato growing and packing operations started by his father and uncles.

Since then, the DiMares Cos. has expanded to include operations in California, South Carolina and Massachusetts.

DiMare has a tomato packing plant on U.S. 41 in Ruskin and recently acquired a 136,000-square-foot repacking facility in Riverview.

His oldest son, Tony, who joined the family business 22 years ago, oversees the two Hillsborough operations. The elder DiMare works in Homestead, close to the Coral Gables home he shares with his wife, Swannee. Success hasn't come easily.

DiMare, who has had to stave off the pressures of global competition and consolidation, is quick to point out that other family-owned farming businesses haven't been as fortunate.

"We're battling on all ends," he said. "When you're competing with Third World countries, you say, "How do we compete? We can't compete.' "

An outspoken critic of U.S. trade policy, DiMare has testified before Congress and appealed to lawmakers to toughen restrictions on imports from countries with lax labor laws. He was behind a lawsuit that led to the suspension of trade with Mexican tomato growers in 1996, and he championed legislation to put a country-of-origin label on all imported fruits and vegetables.

Locally, DiMare and son Tony are concerned about the encroachment of development in areas where farms once dotted the landscape. They also worry about the stress that such rapid growth is putting on the water supply and infrastructure.

"Just about every piece of land around us has been gobbled up and is being developed," Tony DiMare said. He recalled his father telling him about a time when Ruskin was all farms. "The pepper farm across the street is now homes, and just south of us is MiraBay."

Tony DiMare said he hopes to instill in his children the same love for agriculture that his father passed on to him and his three younger brothers, Paul Jr., 40, Scott, 37, and Gino, 35.

For Paul DiMare, his biggest pride is carrying on a family business that has spanned three generations.

"To continue your dad's business and have your children take it over, it's the American dream," he said. "But preserving that is a never-ending battle. It's one I'll continue to fight."

AGE: 63

FAMILY: Wife, Swannee, and sons Tony DiMare, 42, Paul DiMare Jr., 40, Scott DiMare, 37, Gino DiMare, 35, and Jim Husk, 37.

CLAIM TO FAME: Affectionately known as Mr. Tomato, DiMare is the largest fresh-market tomato grower in the United States.

THE DIMARE COS.: A year-round grower and packer with farms in four states. DiMare Florida, the largest operation, ships about 5-million cartons of tomatoes each year. Locally, DiMare runs a tomato packing plant on U.S. 41 in Ruskin and a 136,000-square-foot repacking facility in Riverview.

COOKBOOK FAVORITES: Scallop, spinach and tomato saute; chicken Caesar salad stuffed tomatoes; and tomato and potato casserole.

[Last modified February 17, 2005, 10:51:04]