California peach growers secure federal funds to pull trees after Del Monte bankruptcy
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- USDA approved up to $9 million to fund a Central Valley tree‑pull program.
- Federal funds will cover removal of up to 420,000 clingstone peach trees.
- Del Monte canceled 20‑year contracts, leaving about 50,000 tons unaccounted for.
Central Valley farmers stuck with thousands of acres of trees growing unwanted canning peaches are positioned for a last-minute lifeline.
California lawmakers on Tuesday announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved their request to subsidize the removal of clingstone peach trees left without a buyer following the Del Monte Foods bankruptcy and Modesto cannery closure.
Through the tree-pull program, the federal administration will fund up to $9 million for California farmers throughout the Central Valley, according to lawmakers. The California Canning Peach Association pitched the program, including a $3 million match from the association and industry, to the USDA after Del Monte announced the closure of its Modesto cannery in January.
The bankruptcy was announced last July, but the crisis point for growers came when no buyer emerged for the Modesto facility, leaving short notice to secure federal support while growers faced near-term decisions of what to do with their orchards.
“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,” Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said in an interview.
Transitioning land for new crop
Through the bankruptcy process, Del Monte canceled its 20-year contracts, which last year yielded about 74,000 tons of cling peaches. Some of those orchards under contract had been planted in recent years, leaving growers to remove young orchards that, in some cases, may not have begun producing meaningful harvests.
Pacific Coast Producers, the last remaining peach canner, offered one-year contracts for about 24,000 tons of the stranded peaches, leaving about 50,000 tons of peaches unaccounted for.
That tonnage equates to an estimated 3,000 acres of peach trees, according to the canning association. Much of that acreage is in the Sacramento Valley farm communities of Yuba and Sutter counties.
The federal assistance will fund the removal of up to 420,000 clingstone peach trees prior to summer harvest, and costs associated with transitioning that land for new crops. A USDA analysis found that removing the estimated 50,000 tons of orphaned peaches from the market could protect farmers from about $30 million of potential losses.
Ensuring assistance
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 for new crops.
Growers navigating the tight timeline of pulling out orchards and planting a new crop this spring have asked whether they would be eligible for support after the fact, if they acted quickly in ripping their orchards as opposed to waiting for federal approval and risking that they miss their opportunity to plant this year.
Lawmakers received word of the USDA decision Tuesday morning, Thompson said, and more details will be sorted soon.
“I want to make sure that farmers who pull their trees irrespective of when, if it was last week or next week, that they’re in the queue and eligible for this assistance,” he said.
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 2:39 PM with the headline "California peach growers secure federal funds to pull trees after Del Monte bankruptcy."
