California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy
Source: Hacker News
Background
Central California farmers are expected to receive up to $9 million in federal aid to help remove 420,000 clingstone peach trees following the closure of Del Monte Foods’ canneries earlier this year.
Del Monte permanently closed its Modesto and Hughson canneries in April after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July. The factory closures left hundreds of workers without jobs and left farmers facing a $550 million loss in revenue after many 20‑year contracts to grow peaches with Del Monte were canceled.
Federal aid for peach farmers
A delegation of California lawmakers asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide financial support to the fruit growers. In a news release, California Sen. Adam Schiff and Reps. Mike Thompson and David Valadao announced that the USDA approved funding to pay California farmers to remove around 3,000 acres of clingstone peach trees before the harvest season.
- Removing 50,000 tons of peaches from production could help growers save about $30 million in losses.
- The aid is intended to prevent “long‑term structured damage to our nation’s agricultural base.”
“For generations, Central Valley family farms have relied on Del Monte’s Modesto facility to process their peaches, and its sudden closure left growers with thousands of pounds of fruit and no clear path forward,” – David Valadao
“When a processing facility closes and 55,000 acres of fruit suddenly have nowhere to go — that’s not something a family farm can just absorb,” – Mike Thompson
Schiff, Thompson, Valadao, and 39 other members of Congress sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in March, emphasizing that many affected farmers are multigenerational family farms that have invested in their orchards for decades.
Sale of Del Monte’s canned fruit business
Lodi‑based Pacific Coast Producers purchased Del Monte’s canned fruit business earlier this year after a court approved the sale of all its assets. Pacific Coast Producers offered contracts to farmers to buy 24,000 tons of peaches, but about 50,000 tons will go unused.
Sources:
- Del Monte Modesto plant closure – SFGate
- Del Monte bankruptcy filing – SFGate
- Sacramento Bee report on contract cancellations
- Press release on USDA relief for peach farmers
- Letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins (PDF)
- Court approval of Del Monte asset sale – PR Newswire
- Sacramento Bee on unused peach tonnage