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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


The fruit of a disaster millions of years ago

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Those ripe red juicy tomatoes that put dollars in growers' pockets are the result of a meteorite that crashed into Earth between 60 and 70 million years ago.

According to researchers who have mapped the tomato genome and published their findings in Nature on May 30, the fruit of the surviving tomato plant suddenly tripled in size after a very stressful event, likely a solar eclipse following the meteor strike. The fruit turned red and toxins that protect other members of the nightshade family were lost.

According to the scientists, modern breeding means little by comparison. Tomatoes grown in Holland, for example, only differ about 0.6 per cent from their ancestors brought to northern Europe from Spain in the 15th century. BF

Current Issue

April 2026

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

A Young Farmer Finds the Perfect Combine

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

At Farms.com, nurturing a passion for agriculture starts early, and nothing illustrates that better than a recent heartwarming video featuring young Jared Altmann and the Farms.com Ag Buyer’s Guide. In the video, Jared can be seen carefully combing through the pages of the Ag Buyer’s... Read this article online

Ont. farmer Tony McQuail reflects on NDP leadership race

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Huron County farmer Tony McQuail is back at Meeting Place Organic Farm in Lucknow after vying to replace Jagmeet Singh as the leader of the federal NDP. “It was a very hopeful and positive experience for me,” he told Farms.com. “I was very pleased with what we were able to bring to the... Read this article online

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