is your grandpappy growing a non-standardized varietal?
bulk processing plants preferr a single vareity to ensure batch to batch consistency (romas for sauce and paste, pear/plum for whole canning, etc...) if he has a variety of particular note farmer's markets and boutique distributors are always an option.
only the GMO's can have a patent, and most varietals of tomato that are "patented" suck donkey balls. the standardized varietals are often demanded by processors for the consistency issue and for the advantages of "branding" in sales to "consumers" who think more words on the label makes a tinned tomatoe better.
"Organic Vine Ripened Sweet Roma Italiano" sells more tins than "stewed tomatoes" even if both tins share the exact same contents. most AG regulations are designed to prevent misleading labeling and marketing, not growing obscure varieties.
this particular regulation is designed to reduce the creases folds and funk concealing ridges in fresh produce (for hygiene reasons, not marketing or sinister desires to suppress non-conforming crops) since it's much harfder to wash an irregular fruit particularly one which is generally consumed raw and unpeeled. it does make sense from a certain perspective, and theres not issue of patent involved in the cited article.
theres a couple of distributors in the sacramento area who deal extensively in "heirloom tomatoes" for fancy restaurants and boutiques where such things are prized by the swells, but the farmer's market is where i sell most of my "non-conforming" varieties. the markup is almost criminal, and well worth the afternoon surrounded by hippies (some of them dont even smell, sometimes)
i dont get your issue bro, if you have enough land to sell to processors, grow what they buy, if you want a higher profit per tomatoe, grow the funky ones and sell em at local markets and to the swanky eat-em-up joints, if youre looking for a stable contract, or certain income, quit farming and sell medical insurance for Obamacare.
fuck that shit, keep farming but call it "hobby gardening" on your taxes since you can DEDUCT the costs of hobbies, and claim they produce no taxable income...
