Central California farmers are weighing whether to destroy about 3,000 acres of clingstone peach trees after Del Monte Foods closed its canneries and left a major market for their fruit in shambles. The trees under consideration total about 420,000, and the decision now hangs over orchards that took years to build and were meant to last for decades.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently approved $9 million in federal aid to help farmers remove the trees and shift to more valuable crops, a move farm leaders say could keep some growers on the land. Shannon Douglass called the aid a glimmer of hope after a devastating period, saying it would help California farmers transition to new crops and stay in business.
The money comes after months of pressure from Sacramento and Washington. More than 40 California lawmakers wrote to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in March asking for financial help for peach farmers, as the industry confronted the loss of Del Monte canneries and a market that had supported families for generations. Adam Schiff said removing 50,000 tons of peaches from production could save farmers about $30 million in projected losses, a sign of how quickly the collapse of one buyer can ripple through the valley.
Del Monte filed for bankruptcy in July 2025, and last month it closed its canneries in Modesto and Hughson. The company’s bankruptcy court filings said California peach farmers had long-term contracts to supply fruit to the company, and those lost contracts are worth more than $550 million. The Modesto plant alone processed between 30% and 35% of California’s cling peaches, making the closure far more than a business decision in one town. It cut into the backbone of an entire crop.
That is why california peach tree removal has become a live question for growers who cannot simply replace an orchard with another crop overnight. Peach trees have 20-year lifespans and take years to cultivate, while the alternatives are not always as lucrative. Tony and Laura McGrath told the Sacramento Bee in February that other crops do not pay as well as peaches, and the family’s own numbers showed how much was at stake: they have 40 acres of peach trees, including 12 acres of Andross peaches under contract with Del Monte for another decade.
Del Monte’s troubles were tied to changing customer preferences away from canned fruits and vegetables, mounting operational costs and tariffs on imported steel used in cans. Farmers are also facing additional pressure from tariffs, the Iran war’s effect on fertilizer shipments and drought. The federal aid does not restore the lost contracts or reopen the canneries, but it does give growers a way to decide whether pulling out trees now is better than letting an aging crop stand in a market that no longer supports it. For many of them, the question is no longer whether the peach industry is under strain. It is how much of it can survive the season.