USDA approves $9m relief to remove 420,000 California peach trees
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 6
USDA approves $9m relief to remove 420,000 California peach trees
6 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 6
The aid covers about 3,000 orchard acres before the 2026 harvest after Del Monte shut canneries in Modesto and Hughson, leaving growers without a major buyer.
Lawmakers said the collapse of long-term contracts could cost farmers about $550 million, while USDA estimates removing 50,000 tons from production could avert roughly $30 million in losses.
Nearly 40 members of Congress backed the request as growers pivot to other crops. Del Monte, which filed for Chapter 11 last year, says it will keep operating while restructuring and seeking a sale.
Del Monte’s bankruptcy crushed the canned fruit industry. Could frozen foods be the unexpected savior for California’s growers?
As a fruit giant falls, who now controls the market and what will it mean for the price of canned goods?
With 420,000 peach trees gone, can California's farmers pivot to a new crop before their farms collapse?