Surplus Peaches After Del Monte Cannery Closing

Taxpayers have stepped in with billions of dollars in aid after Del Monte’s bankruptcy that led to the closure of the company’s California canneries in Modesto and Hughson that left cling peach growers without a processor for their 75,000 tons of product.

California lawmakers lobbied the USDA for emergency aid for peach farmers, which led to a $9 million assistance package.

“Following our urging to the Trump administration to deliver relief to peach farmers, I am pleased that USDA is unlocking this federal funding,” said Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat. “California is the nation’s largest agriculture state and I’m glad Secretary Rollins is engaging with us to support our producers.” 

Schiff’s Republican colleague from California, Rep. David Valadao, also thanked the USDA for the financial support.

“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,” said Representative David Valadao. “This investment will give producers the time they need to adjust and plan for the future.”

California is the country’s largest peach producer, growing nearly 75% of the nation’s crop.

Top peach-producing states:

• California

• South Carolina

• Georgia

• Pennsylvania

• Colorado

That made California growers the worst hit in the country after Del Monte filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July and announced the closure of its two California canneries last month.

RELATED: Peaches are part of an Ohio family’s orchards, but this couple hopes to convince more growers to consider berries.  

Some Central Valley growers had previous long-lasting contracts with Del Monte for cling peaches, making the cannery facilities’ shutdown jarring to their future operations. Pacific Coast Producers bought Del Monte’s canned fruit operations but can only add about one-third of the peaches that Del Monte process.

That left California growers with a surplus of peaches and exposed a disconnect in the United States where America’s farmers can produce far more supply that the system can accommodate, even though an estimated one in seven Americans is considered food insecure. 

California peach growers will now destroy some of their orchards, aided by the USDA funding. The California Canning Peach Association and the California Farm Bureau said in a joint announcement that the USDA funding would provide funding for the removal of up to 420,000 clingstone peach trees. That is approximately 3,000 acres. 

“We’re grateful for the swift action taken to protect peach growers, the peach industry, their families and the rural communities that depend on this industry,” said Rich Hudgins, CEO of the California Canning Peach Association.

RELATED: The strain on the peach industry adds another potential financial stressor to California’s farmland. Scott Bozzo, President & Founder of Macotera Ag Group and California’s American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers 2025 Farm Manager of the Year, explained to American Farmland Owner last year what was dragging down some of the state’s farmland values.