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1970-01-01

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...

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The land is the thing that is actually valuable here, so filling that land with a perfect grid of 6 foot craters in exchange for a few dollars is probably a bad call.

The problem isn't that the trees are in the wrong place. The problem is that there are more trees than demand for canned peaches. It's a failure of planning on the part of Del Monte and peach growers.

Covid boosted the sale of canned food, but people avoid the sugary syrup of canned fruits in non emergency situations.

I agree in principle that reuse is the best imaginable outcome... but You underestimate the labor and cost of machines. I bet it costs $200 to pluck a single tree let alone ship it somewhere else usable.

Why would they pay to ship it anywhere? Set the auction date and mandate the buyer brings a flatbed. All sales final. The work to remove the dead tree stump isn't going to be cheaper.

Unfortunately it’s way more economical to chip them over spaying out a full sized tree then meshing and wiring it, lifting the heavy thing with roots and soil onto a flat bed for one off transplant - every step requires heavy diesel fueled equipment. Plus, older trees have higher risk of dying and you really need to do it in the winter.

It’s actually cheaper just to buy new fruit tree stock and you can get better quality (ie flavorful varieties vs mass farmable ones). Source: worked at an ornamental tree farm, done the math in spreadsheets and have planted peach trees in my yard as well - once loaded a trailer wrong and did a 180 in a loaded flatbed with trees, which went all over the interstate.

If they're shuttering this farm because peaches are no longer profitable, why would someone else pay for these trees?

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

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