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Shock waves of plant closure hit local fruit farms
•Growers to lose $550 million in peaches alone
Richard Lial Escalon farmer
Escalon farmer Richard Lial stands in his blooming peach orchard, whose fruit had been destined for Modesto’s Del Monte processing plant before the company announced the site will close this spring.
Shock waves have washed over the region since January’s announcement that the venerable plant soon will close, leaving 1,800 employees – two-thirds of them seasonal, the rest full-time – without jobs, and numerous growers without a home for their fruit.