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
Federal government to pay $9 million to help farmers destroy $500 million in peach tree orchards.
byu/baltimore-aureole ineconomy
Posted by baltimore-aureole