Federal government to pay $9 million to help farmers destroy $500 million in peach tree orchards.

Photo above - guess how many thousands of acres of decades old peach trees you can destroy with $9 million . . .?

Things I did not know: Del Monte Foods filed bankruptcy last year. Del Monte is privately owned by some company in Singapore. Del Monte went bankrupt because it had $1 billion debt, and 25,000 different creditors. Del Monte then cancelled all it’s peach contracts with California growers. The growers will get $9 million in federal aid to destroy 3,000 acres of peach orchards which annually produce $500 million in crops. See link below.

It’s not clear what – if anything - will be planted when the peach trees are uprooted and turned into mulch. Probably not almond trees – those require a HELL of a lot water, and are a disfavored crop in these drought ridden times. Almonds remain California’s #1 cash crop. Yeah, this surprised me too. I haven't eaten an almond all year.

I don’t think these former peach farmers will be planting grapes – Californias 2nd largest crop. Those things take 4 years after planting to produce reliably. The peach farmers will need some cash flow quicker than that.

Lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries are the next most likely replacements. But all these require a lot of manual labor to harvest. Trust me, I live in Plant City Florida, which evidently produces all the strawberries which DON’T come from California. It's backbreaking work.

I usually buy my peaches fresh anyway. Can’t remember the last time I bought a can of peaches, but when I go to the Chinese buffet for lunch I’m pretty sure that giant bowl of sliced peaches nestled in a crater of shaved ice is filled with some brand of canned peaches.

Back to the stunner: $1 billion in debt, and 25,000 creditors at the time of Del Monte’s bankruptcy. Some random guy in Singapore running the Del Monte show. Now 3,000 acres of peaches are getting plowed under. I guess our food chain is weirder and more fragile than we realize. When peach prices go up this year, I don't think higher energy prices or greedy supermarkets will be the culprit.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

California farmers to destroy 420,000 peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-farmers-to-destroy-420-000-peach-trees-following-del-monte-bankruptcy/ar-AA22rOeY?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69faf015608d46fd8f9206f44b73b7d6&ei=65

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dale74 · M

Pot farms are the new california crop

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@dale74 i heard a rumor (no link) that most of these are money losing. homegrown weed if flooding the market - at street prices - and consumers are disinclined to visit dispensaries and pay sky prices plus state tax on the purchase

dale74 · M

@SusanInFlorida i saw a sign in Louisiana the other day on a dispensary that said $30 a day for your medical supply, and that was like $30 a day. It's 900 bucks a month.
It's eleven thousand a year.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@dale74 that's probably a quarter gram vape. price seems spot on compared to other legal states. assuming you consume the full quarter gram daily. consumption rate would be high. possibly rendering the user unfit for work involving machinery, motor vehicles, and keyboards/data. barista is still a possibility

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

A few additional clarifications, if I might, having grown up in California peach country. Del Monte was the tipping point, but the issue was broader: as someone else noted, the shelf life is short, they don't travel well; in addition, most of these trees were cling peaches which are good for canning, but don't do well on the fresh market; the market for canned fruit is nearly dead given the current trends for fresh or frozen.

The $9 million is not so much to help pay for ripping the trees out or even replacing them; it is the lag time until whatever replacement crop starts producing--the age old challenge farmers and orchardists always face when having to start over.

You are right about the water issues with choosing replacement crops. Surprised you didn't list pistachios -- California is the largest producer in the world, although in sheer volume can't match the ones you mentioned. And with ICE lurking about, the supply of low paid, back-breaking workers is in short supply. But the bigger issues are environmental: it is not just water, but the alkaline soil conditions and extreme summer heat of the Central Valley. Pistachios do well in the foothills; not so in the valley, for example. And lettuce, strawberries, etc., require more of a coastal location.

Alas, the most productive crop to replace those peaches probably is going to be "affordable housing". Affordable because it is some distance to where jobs are, and only if you don't add in the commute costs. Plus the financial AND environmental costs of air conditioning as well as the commuting.

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SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@dancingtongue "it is what it is" has been forever by people who want to cut off debate, without explaining or analyzing problems.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@SusanInFlorida I did not intend it that way. What I meant was that it was not what I, or I believe a majority of Californians desire--certainly not what our Governor & Legislature have pushed and incentivized for affordable housing, public transit, high taxes on gasoline, incentives for EV's and electrical charging stations--but for a large segment of our population it remains their preference. A co-worker and friend once described it -- back in the late 60's -- as the donut hole phenomenon. We keep pushing new, cheaper housing outward into the agricultural land and let the inner cities decay. Silicon Valley used to be the richest agricultural land in the entire world, now paved over and its new name reflects the only line of products being "grown".

BTW, if you want an idea of how ridiculous and strained the global supply lines are on agriculture and food, read The Secret Lives of Groceries by Benjemin Knorr.

I live in what used to be the heart of apricot and cherry orchards; there is an old drying shed decaying over my backyard fence. My great-grandparents and uncle raised apricots as their primary crops. I finally saw some apricots and cherries at Trader Joe's last week; none of the other stores had any. The cherries weren't too bad; somewhat immature in size but tasted okay. The apricots were picked green and although I allowed them to ripen, they had no flavor.

Also, a further clarification on why there is little market for cling peaches besides the poor shelf life of peaches in general: people prefer freestone over cling when it comes to fresh peaches. The trees being ripped out and covered by the $9 million Fed subsidy are cling.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@dancingtongue agree on broad points:

1 - public referendums on measures involving taxes and spending, to keep politicians (more) honest.

2 - the solution to inner city decay is converting vacant neighbor hoods into something habitable, with stores and offices. not abandoing.

3 - i seldom buy peaches by variety. i eyeball them and squeeze them gently at the market, then consume promptly at home. they're not like apples or pears which last for weeks.

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, MVIP

Food destroyed and it costs money to do it.. Ironic..😷

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@whowasthatmaskedman they were waiting on federal handout before destroying their orchards.

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SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@jshm2 agree that most (modern) orchards are fruit tree grafts on dwarfing rootstock, so they can be picked more economically. at least apples and oranges are now grown that way.

the orchard farmers don't necessarily own any patents on "elberta peaches" or "red delicious apples", whether they are root stock grafts or grown from seed.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

One comnpany has bought about a third of the produce, but presumably the receivers are unable to find other buyers for the rest. If nothing else can't the remaining of this year's crop be given to overseas-ard and poverty-relief charities?

What a terrible waste, and heartbreaking for the farmers even if they are compensated, just because either Del Monet was undercut by rivals or some spiv in Singapore managed to ruin the company. Always a problem with foreign ownership - it's never secure and the investment in your country is not for your country.

I've just looked: I've already eaten the last Del Monte fruit that was in my kitchen.

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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, MVIP

@ArishMell Another small example of Money no longer hsving a nation. Peaches are too short lived and fragile to be shipped half way round the world before processing. So most likely your Greek peaches are just that. But the global company just amputated a diseased limb and continues on, uncaring..😷

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ArishMell some canned goods can last 10 years. ask enlisted personnel in world war about their rations.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida They can indeed. I likely have cans that old at the back of my cupboards!

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