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Thousands of visitors have flocked to Cesar Mora’s farm in central California this week to gather free nectarines.
He’s giving his harvest away rather than watching it rot as he’s locked in a legal battle with a company that claims exclusive rights over the variety of white nectarine he grows. He’s shared more than 100,000 pounds (45,359 kilograms) since Monday.
“It was really just a thought of not wasting a perfectly good product,” Mora said. “It does make a grower feel good, being able to share my fruit with people and see their immediate reaction that they love it. It’s a little bit of good in this tough situation that I’ve been dealing with.”
The legal dispute highlights the tension that can emerge between farmers and the plant breeders and large industrial food marketers that create new varieties of plants and obtain the exclusive rights to sell them.
Since 2023, the third-generation farmer in the agricultural community of Reedley in California’s Central Valley has been fighting a lawsuit filed against him by Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co. The suit centers on the company’s claims of exclusivity over a variety of white nectarine and accusations that Mora broke their contract by selling the fruit to other packers. A trial has been scheduled for later this month.
“At its heart, this is a disagreement involving two written agreements, and it is being resolved the right way — in court and on the facts,” the company said in a statement emailed by one of its attorneys.
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Mora has accused the company of unfair and fraudulent business practices.
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