Farmers in Central California have grown peaches for Del Monte for generations. But the nearly 140-year-old company recently initiated bankruptcy proceedings and closed two of its processing plants in the state, leaving cultivators with a whole lot of fruit they can’t sell.

According to the Independent, the cannery closures in Modesto and Hughson caused hundreds of farm workers to lose work and growing operations to lose lengthy contracts with Del Monte. The impacted farms stand to lose significant revenue, but lawmakers are stepping in to help mitigate the financial burden.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers said the USDA has granted their request for aid and will make up to $9 million available to fund the removal of up to 420,000 clingstone peach trees — approximately 3,000 acres — prior to the 2026 harvest season. They said based on USDA’s analysis, removing 50,000 tons of peaches from production could save growers roughly $30 million in projected losses.

It sounds like a drastic step to destroy so many peach trees when selling them to wholesale food distributors seems like an obvious solution. But clingstone peaches are typically reserved for canning or making jelly since they are sweet and juicy but very stuck to their pits. Their relatively firm flesh is better equipped to deal with heat and machine processing. Freestone peaches, with flesh that separates much more easily from their pits, are the types of fruit often found in produce sections.

Nevertheless, it’s a shocking number of trees to destroy. But, according to the Associated Press, it’s an effect of consumer preferences moving away from canned fruits and vegetables, and toward fresher options. That shift has caused sales to lag for Del Monte’s signature products and forced the company to restructure and pursue a sale of its assets.

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