USDA approves up to $9M to help California peach growers stranded by Del Monte bankruptcy 

By Eileen Rodríguez

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved up to $9 million in federal funding for growers in California’s Central Valley. 

The funds will support the removal of trees in Yuba and Sutter counties left unsold after Del Monte Foods' bankruptcy and the subsequent closure of its Modesto cannery in January, says local news outlet The Sacramento Bee. 

The news site also reported that the program was proposed by the California Canning Peach Association (CCPA), which committed a $3 million industry match. 

Peach growers left untethered

Del Monte canceled its 20-year contracts with local growers following its bankruptcy filing, leaving approximately 74,000 tons of cling fruit unsold last year, according to the site. 

Pacific Coast Producers, the last remaining peach canner, offered one-year contracts for 24,000 tons, leaving approximately 50,000 tons, or 3,000 acres of trees, without buyers, per the CCPA.

Federal assistance will fund the removal of up to 420,000 clingstone peach trees before the summer harvest and support costs for transitioning land to new crops, according to lawmakers. A USDA analysis found that removing 50,000 tons of unsold peaches could prevent about $30 million in potential farmer losses. 

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who advocated for federal action, told The Sacramento Bee that growers face tight deadlines for crop planning.

"These guys have decisions to make—they have to get the trees out, they have to decide if they're going to plant something else, what they're going to plant, and timing is very critical," Thompson said.

Nearly 40 California lawmakers signed a letter in March urging USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to help growers with canceled Del Monte contracts pivot their land. Lawmakers received word of the USDA decision in the last week of April, with Thompson noting that further program details remain to be finalized.

Uncertainty remains for growers

A central question for growers, according to The Sacramento Bee, is whether those who already pulled orchards ahead of the federal funds approval will remain eligible for support. 

Some canceled contracts covered orchards planted in recent years, according to the news site, meaning some growers face removing young trees that had not yet produced meaningful harvests, the report stated.

*All images courtesy of the California Canning Peach Association.  

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