California farmers must destroy 420,000 peach trees after Del Monte closes its canneries and cancels more than $550 million in long-term contracts
For many warm-weather fruit lovers, the prospect of endlessly ripe, rosy peaches is a mouth-watering prospect. For farmers in central California, it’s more of a waking nightmare. To stay afloat, these farmers are now weighing whether to destroy about 3,000 acres, or about 420,000 peach trees, following the closure of the Del Monte Food Cannery…