With Del Monte Foods gone, California peach farmers consider orchard removal amid industry turmoil

Around 70 California peach growers are now shouldering the fallout after Del Monte Foods filed for bankruptcy in July 2025. As a result, the company’s canning plants in Modesto and Hughson shut down, leading to the cancellation of several contracts with local growers.

The US giant in canned fruits, vegetables, and snacks initiated the Chapter 11 process due to rising debt, which they attributed to changing consumer habits and pandemic-related missteps.

Fresh Del Monte Produce’s $285 million acquisition of the brand reunites the name under one owner, but for local growers and workers, the news rings hollow. The deal will not revive the shuttered processing plants they depended on.

Although its two California canning plants are scheduled to close permanently on April 7, Del Monte Foods ended contracts with most state peach growers in August, leaving producers with a significant stock surplus,  no obvious buyers, and a need for prompt financial relief.

Peach growers face over a $500 million loss

Founded in 1886, Del Monte Foods was one of only two remaining canneries in California and a major local fruit buyer. According to local news outlet, Modesto Focus, Del Monte Food's Modesto plant alone processed over 40 percent of Valley-grown pears and a significant share of peaches and apricots.

The news has left the country’s main peach growers with no buyer for as much as 30 percent of their crop, and the industry is in danger of taking a multimillion-dollar financial hit.

Sarb Johl, a peach farmer in Yuba County, told local news outlet Sacramento Bee, that the company shutting off its doors leaves one-third of growers without a plan B. 

 “They’re the only player left, what are you going to do?” Johl said to the news outlet. “In the peach business, you do what the processor wants you to do. And what variety they want you to grow, you just grow it. You’re growing it for their needs. If they don’t need it — and that’s what we’re faced with now — they just don’t need all these peaches.”

The outlet reports that farmers in the Central Valley, Yuba, and Sutter counties, the leading peach-growing regions, are facing a $550 million revenue loss after the company voided all 20-year contracts with peach growers.

The news site adds that the last remaining cannery, Pacific Coast Producers, offered one-year contracts to buy fruit from some orchards that are suffering the brunt, but the California Canning Peach Association said it’s not enough. The processor is only purchasing around 24,000 tons of peaches, leaving growers with over 50,000 tons of fruit and no buyers.

To provide some financial relief for the industry, the association is currently pleading with the USDA to grant the sector relief through the $12 million tree-pull program, which would deem growers with canceled Del Monte Foods contracts eligible to remove up to 3,000 acres of peach orchards at a $250-per-ton rate based on peaches delivered in 2025.

As the country’s top peach producers, California peach growers now face tough choices. With Del Monte Foods gone, many are weighing whether to rip out their peach orchards and plant almonds, pistachios, or walnuts instead, all in a bid to survive financially.

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