California peach harvests are down after warmer winter disrupted trees' sleep cycles [View all]

Source: CBS News

August 12, 2025 / 8:04 PM EDT


The peaches harvested at Masumoto Family Farm in California's Central Valley are so delicious, they are sought after by world-famous restaurants. But this year's harvest signals trouble: There are 30% fewer peaches to pick due to warmer winters that disrupted the sleep cycles of the trees. Farmers like Mas Masumoto, whose family relies on a 12-week peach harvest for their entire income, are seeing firsthand how climate change threatens their livelihood.

"We like to think about it like the trees need to sleep really soundly — and they need a certain number of hours under 45 degrees," Mas' daughter Nikiko said. This past winter, the area's stone fruits, such as peaches, plums, apricots and cherries, didn't get consistent cold weather that regulates the trees' nutrients. Instead, they were interrupted by many warmer days, which could explain why growers have been hit hard.

"Some of them actually didn't have a crop at all," said Raymond Mireles, an agriculture adviser with the University of California. "And so ultimately, you know, as these trees get woken up, these trees weren't able to kind of maintain some of their carbohydrates within the roots, and ultimately they don't know when to wake up."

Much like a person needs a full night's sleep to be productive, the trees need a full winter's sleep. Now, stone fruit lovers across the country may be beginning to feel the impact. Consumers are paying 23 cents more a pound for yellow peaches and 17 cents more for white peaches.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-peach-harvests-climate-change-stone-fruit-trees/