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California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

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Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#341

Post by blt »

hn_acc1 wrote: post #311
boringg wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a funny statement in that California has probably the best agricultural produce on the planet. If you were in say Texas or Georgia - you could be forgiven for your statement. Bay area produce is unparalleled - Tomatoes, peaches, figs, strawberries, etc. More organic growers if thats what you care about - high quality growers. There is also massive commercial growers doing high volume low cost but you do need…

See my other comment: in 20+ years in the Bay Area, compared to 25 in SW Ontario (Canada): the BEST peach I've had in 20+ years in the Bay Area wouldn't even make it as "a good one" of the bunches we had every summer in Canada. Not sure where they came from, but from personal experience, Bay Area peaches suck REALLY hard. I've WANTED to find some good ones, because I miss them, and they're always super hard or alread…

Agree. California peaches are horrible. Southern peaches (Georgia, Carolinas) are indescribably better.

I love California, but it's funny/sad the extent to which many Californians deny that other parts of the USA have us beat in some regards.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#342

Post by colechristensen »

munk-a wrote: post #215
colechristensen wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see people finding too often that change is injustice, and this is strange.

I think I just have a strange personal definition of injustice - but the effort put into growing this orchard to destroy is could have gone to better projects. The fact that so much of an investment is being wasted is, to me, a misallocation of resources that were unjustly allotted to this failed venture. A more just outcome would have been these resources and efforts going to projects that actually yielded benefits…

It is important to not think of failure as injustice. Something not working out is not immoral. Carelessly wasting resources can be, but doing everything in good faith and something ending not at the absolute optimal time isn't wrong. No plan survives contact with reality perfectly.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#343

Post by kaitai »

cogman10 wrote: post #278
nradov wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not making any sense. I never claimed that a bunch of farmers have mixed orchards. Some farmers have too many peach trees right now because Del Monte got their forecasts wrong so now those farmers will chop down the peach trees and probably plant something else. Olive oil demand is still trending up so that might be a possibility in some cases, there are lots of options. That's just how farming works: you have…

> I never claimed that a bunch of farmers have mixed orchards. You claimed > Every year farmers cut down a bunch of trees and plant new ones in response to costs and market demand. What do you mean responding to "costs and market demand"? You also claimed > They forecast future trends as best they can and will replace trees (or other crops) when it seems profitable. Both those statements would imply that you have orc…

Agree with the other commenter that there is no implication of mixed orchards in their comments.

It is commonplace to decide that a particular plot of land needs to be either maintained or moved to production of another crop. When those production change decisions are made, it is in response to an assessment of the market and the properties of the plot of land. (The assessment may be wrong or short sighted of course.)

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#344

Post by phyzome »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #16

I wonder why they cannot be moved. There are machines that simply pluck them from the dirt and have them ready to go. They could auction them off for $1/each and still make a profit. https://interestingengineering.com/lists/7-mighty-machines-f...

Anyone who wants a peach tree is going to 1) have a cheaper way of getting one, and 2) probably want a different variety.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#345

Post by chrneu »

pfdietz wrote: post #283

As I understand it, Del Monte made a few mistakes. The first was related to COVID. Sales of canned goods spiked during COVID. They misinterpreted this as a permanent change and invested accordingly. Second, they did not find a way to compete with store brands, which are no longer at a quality deficit vs. more expensive name brands like Del Monte. Finally, they didn't address changes in diet that (as I see it) makes s…

Correction: Carbs are not "unhealthy". That's a wildly inaccurate and broad thing to say.

Excess consumption of processed and/or "unhealthy" carbs is unhealthy.

Excess consumption of protein is also unhealthy. Same with fiber.

I'm not commenting on anything else, just the fact that "carbs are recognized now as seriously unhealthy" is absolutely untrue.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#346

Post by chrneu »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #37
ryandrake wrote: post #9

> When a processing facility closes and 55,000 acres of fruit suddenly have nowhere to go — that’s not something a family farm can just absorb Won't they at least sell the fruit to customers through grocery stores, where possible? I can see replacing the crops based on reduced future demand from the canneries, but surely the current fruit is usable.

It is common in agriculture that there is no existing market in which the price would cover the cost of moving the crop to that market. Destroying the crop minimizes the loss to the farmer.

it's worth mentioning that this isn't a produce/fruit only thing. Dairies regularly dump milk when it isn't profitable, often in ways where it winds up in the ground water or watershed.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#347

Post by keithnz »

I've worked in agtech for the last 20 years supplying CA with various equipment and there's a vast amount of food industry there. So, the unfortunate thing is, kind of need to let capitalism do its job here. Ultimately, there is a lot of opportunity and infrastructure for all kinds of crops. Either people adapt or someone will buy them out. The only time you should really worry is if anyone trys to rezone agricultural land for other purposes.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#348

Post by parpfish »

delichon wrote: post #7

This is your fault for eating fewer canned peaches. The clingstone variety is bred for canning and not well suited to eating fresh.

i blew up my tv and threw away my paper. i was working up to eating peaches. i'm sorry.

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#349

Post by ricochet11 »

KumaBear wrote: post #339
clarionbell wrote: post #20

People underestimate how difficult it is to seek buyers for the amount of produce we are talking about here. Farmers are specialists at growing things, not at moving them across great distances, marketing them to dozens small buyers and or starting up packing plants from scratch. They don't have enough trucks, people or packaging machines to move them around. Maybe, they can take some portion for local use. But the r…

I’m actually appalled when farms are unable to sell their crop they destroy them instead of just idk give it away or something.

This relates to what the first poster said though, at these quantities “just give it away” is incredibly expensive. Trucks, workers, cleaning, fuel, etc.

Just give it away still requires someone to pay for it

Re: California farmers to destroy 420k peach trees following Del Monte bankruptcy

#350

Post by cm2012 »

The only reason this is upvoted at all is people have an emotional attachment to trees. Note, there is no moral difference between a cultivated tree and a cultivate tulip or corn stalk. Its not like trees have a bigger brain because they are bigger, it doesnt work that way.
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