We speak with farmer and plant breeder Joseph Lofthouse in northern Utah about breeding tomatoes, and his work with The Beautifully Promiscuous and Tasty Tomato Project.
Lofthouse focuses on breeding landrace crop varieties that are are locally adapted and genetically diverse.
Living in a mountain valley with cold nights and only gets 100 frost-free days, his work breeding tomatoes started out with the simple goal of breeding varieties suited to his growing conditions. “If I wanted to grow tomatoes, I basically had to breed my own tomatoes,” he explains.
He has found much more than cold tolerance.