Peach growing ain't what it used to be

[wtg]

@ShiroKuro Yes they are, as are many other fruits and berries. A lot of people do smoothies and frozen fruits are an essential ingredient. And as you note, they don't have added sugar.

And I'm with you on the non-sugar sweeteners, whether they be chemical or a natural alternative like stevia, which I dislike.

[Axtremus]

I like canned peaches.
People keep telling me fresh peaches are better but canned peaches are so much more convenient!
And yes, when I am not buying grocery stores' store brands, I usually buy Del Monte.
As for the "added sugar," it's not really a problem.
For canned fruits, I often see different versions for the same fruit or fruit mix: in heavy syrup, in syrup, in natural fruit juice only, "light" or reduced sugar, etc. Just pick whatever works for you.

[wtg]

I wonder if any of the processors who do frozen fruits would be interested in buying these farmers' peaches. I have no idea if converting that Del Monte cannery into a frozen fruit processing plant is cost effective...

[AdagioM]

Interesting. I like canned peaches, packed in juice not syrup.

The same thing happened in the salmon industry, where we used to can, but frozen became the desirable thing. The industry seems to have adapted.

[ShiroKuro]

@Axtremus said in Peach growing ain't what it used to be:

it's not really a problem.

Well, it's not a problem if the store carries the one I want. I often find that the true "no sugar added/no sweetener added" options are sold out, or the store doesn't carry them.

[Steve Miller]

I noticed Del Monte products in the grocery store today.

Has someone else bought up the name?

[wtg]

Parts of the Del Monte business and brand, such as the stickers marking bananas and its red-and-yellow logo on cans, will remain on grocery shelves, as Pacific Coast Producers bought the remaining fruit inventory and brand licensing rights, which included packaging under the Del Monte and S&W brands.

[Piano*Dad]

@Axtremus said:

I like canned peaches.
People keep telling me fresh peaches are better but canned peaches are so much more convenient!
And yes, when I am not buying grocery stores' store brands, I usually buy Del Monte.
As for the "added sugar," it's not really a problem.
For canned fruits, I often see different versions for the same fruit or fruit mix: in heavy syrup, in syrup, in natural fruit juice only, "light" or reduced sugar, etc. Just pick whatever works for you.

You are entitled to your preferences, but millions of others are driving this market change. We avoid sugary canned fruit. There is no national calamity here, just a market shakeout. Perhaps the one remaining canner will have enough market power to make a go of things, charging Ax a higher price than before ...

Perhaps not! The US will limp along if a few hundred thousand acres of commercial peach groves switch to other crops or go back to forest. Canning peaches (clingstones) don't sell well to grocery stores as "fresh peaches."

[Mik]

For things like cobblers, canned peaches are great, and more reliable than fresh. I think they are, in no sugar added juice, the best of canned fruit.

[wtg]

That's a lotta dead peach trees.

Central California farmers are expected to gain up to $9 million in federal aid to help remove 420,000 clingstone peach trees following the closure of Del Monte Foods’ canneries earlier this year.

Del Monte permanently closed its Modesto and Hughson canneries in April after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July. The factory closures left hundreds of workers without a job while also leaving farmers in dire straits as they navigated what to do with their crops. In March, the Sacramento Bee reported that many Central California farmers had their 20-year contracts to grow peaches with Del Monte canceled while facing a $550 million loss in revenue.

The impacts pushed a delegation of California lawmakers to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide financial support to the fruit growers. Last week, California Sen. Adam Schiff and Reps. Mike Thompson and David Valadao announced in a news release that the USDA had approved their request to pay California farmers to remove around 3,000 acres of clingstone peach trees before the harvest season. According to the news release, removing 50,000 tons of peaches from production could help growers save about $30 million in losses.

“For generations, Central Valley family farms have relied on Del Monte’s Modesto facility to process their peaches, and its sudden closure left growers with thousands of pounds of fruit and no clear path forward,” Valadao said in the news release.

Schiff, Thompson and Valadao, in addition to 39 other members of Congress, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in March, stating that many of the affected California farmers are multigenerational family farmers who have invested in their orchards for decades. They argued that it was necessary to aid these farmers or risk “long-term structured damage to our nation’s agricultural base.”

https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/usda-aid-california-farmers-22240694.php