<|begin_of_text|><|begin_of_text|><|begin_of_text|>Finocchiaro’s decision to crush his tomatoes into the dirt is indicative of the fruit and vegetables segment of South Florida’s agriculture industry, which has steadily declined since the ’90s, leaving local farmers with tough choices about what to<wm> harvest and who to sell them too.
Finocchiaro, who owns Finocchi Italian Foods, has become a source of frustration for some of the struggling farmers in his community.
“Honestly, it’s devastating,” he said. “That stuff just sits on our table at the grocery store for a season. We are left to decide what to harvest and who can sell it without wasting a bunch that might go to waste,” he shared in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel</wm> on Thursday.
According to the South Florida Agricultural Industries Association, the region has seen significant declines in tomato