Central California peach farmers are preparing to destroy around 420,000 clingstone peach trees after Del Monte Foods permanently closed its canneries in Modesto and Hughson in April. The closures followed the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last July and left hundreds of workers jobless, while growers lost long-term contracts with few alternative buyers.
Farmers face an estimated $550 million in lost revenue, according to the Sacramento Bee. In response, Senator Adam Schiff and Representatives Mike Thompson and David Valadao announced last week that affected growers could receive up to $9 million in federal aid to remove the trees before the harvest season, which runs from late May through September.
The emergency assistance will help growers remove about 3,000 acres of clingstone peach orchards, taking about 50,000 tons of peaches out of production. This could reduce oversupply and save farmers an estimated $30 million in additional losses, the officials said. Growers can then pivot to another crop.
“For generations, Central Valley family farms have relied on Del Monte’s Modesto facility to process their peaches,” Valadao said in a statement. In a March letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the lawmakers warned that without federal help, the situation could cause lasting harm to the country’s agricultural system, noting that many impacted farmers are multigenerational family growers.
Pacific Coast Producers bought Del Monte's canned fruit business after a court allowed the sale, agreeing to buy about 24,000 tons of peaches from farmers. However, this still leaves about 50,000 tons without a buyer, meaning a large amount of the crop will not be used, according to the Sacramento Bee.
