Employment Attorney in Modesto, CA

After several days of persistent fog, clearer skies and warmer temperatures are expected to return to the region, according to the National Weather Service.

“The fog and stratus from the Valley this morning has lifted and burned off, with abundant sunshine now being observed,” the weather agency said in a Thursday, Feb. 5, news release.

As sunshine breaks through the clouds, the National Weather Service said, “above-normal temperatures will prevail” across Northern California.

“Normal” temperatures are based on long-term averages recorded between 1991 and 2020 for the February-through-April period, Johnna Infanti, a meteorologist with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, previously told The Sacramento Bee.

Here’s what to expect in the Modesto region:

How high will temperatures get in Modesto?

High temperatures could reach the 60s to 70s in the Sacramento Valley and foothills, according to the National Weather Service.

In Modesto, temperatures will likely remain “above normal” for this time of year.

The weather service’s latest seven-day forecast calls for “partly sunny” skies and a high near 70 degrees on Friday, Feb. 6.

Saturday is expected to be “mostly sunny,” with a high near 65 degrees, while Sunday, Feb. 8, will bring mostly sunny skies and a high around 64 degrees.

When will it rain again?

As the current warm weather pattern moves out and shifts east, a new system is expected to move in.

“Following above-normal temperatures across the West during late January and early February, a transition to much cooler temperatures is forecast” for most of California, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain showers and breezy winds could start Monday, Feb. 9, and last “through the middle of next week,” the National Weather Service said.

“Only minor impacts are expected over this timeframe,” the weather agency said.

How long will wet, cool weather last?

After a weekend of mostly sunny skies and above-normal temperatures, clouds are expected to return to the Modesto area starting Monday, Feb. 9.

The latest weather forecast shows Monday will be cloudy, with a high near 59 degrees and a low around 47 degrees.

There is “a slight chance of rain” on Tuesday. The high will be around 57 degrees, and the low will near 45 degrees.

Wednesday’s forecast calls for a “chance of rain,” with a high near 57 and a low around 43.

Looking further ahead, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center’s outlook shows below-normal temperatures and above-normal chances of precipitation between Friday, Feb. 13, and Thursday, Feb. 19, for most of California — including the Modesto region.

This “active weather” could continue through at least the middle of February, the National Weather Service said.

What do you want to know about life in Modesto? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email [email protected].

MODESTO, Calif. —

Del Monte Foods confirmed it will shut down operations at its fruit cannery in Modesto, in a move that will impact hundreds of workers.

The decision comes after the Walnut Creek-based company filed for bankruptcy in July. Del Monte said earlier this month that three companies had agreed to buy its assets and business operations.

“In connection with Del Monte Foods’ court-supervised sale process, the go-forward business will not require the operational capacity provided by the Modesto plant,” the company said in a statement to KCRA 3 on Monday. “As a result, Del Monte Foods has made the difficult decision to begin an orderly wind-down of operations at the facility. We recognize the significant impact this decision will have on our team members, their families, and the community, and our priority is supporting our team and customers through this transition. We are grateful to the Modesto team for their dedication and contributions to Del Monte Foods over the years.“

Odus Hall, business coordinator with Local 948 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said none of the three companies that purchased assets had agreed to keep the Modesto cannery running.

The shutdown will lead to the loss of 600 full-time jobs and 800 to 900 seasonal job losses, Hall said.

An employee at the plant Monday told KCRA 3 News everyone is sad and that she has worked in Modesto for 41 years. She said she will most likely be forced to retire.

"But I feel sorry for the other people, young people that they're still working here, that they can't retire," she said.

Hall said there have been several closings in the industry the past few years, adding that the shutdown also closes off a market for regional growers of peaches, apricots and pears.

He said costs for labor and supplies continue to rise and that tariffs on tin don't help.

"The overwhelming majority of this tinplate comes from overseas, and there's nowhere else to get it," Hall said. "So all that tariff did was increase the cost of canned foods, making it that much more difficult for them to compete in the market against imported peaches that come in already canned."

Del Monte Foods would not answer additional questions beyond its statement, including a timeline for the shutdown and how it planned to support impacted workers.

The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors plans to offer workplace development programs to the laid-off workers.

"It's a gut punch for sure, and I'm not working there," said supervisor Vito Chiesa. "I'm not one of the growers anymore. And it still hurts."

Chiesa, a former peach farmer, said the plant's closing will have a huge impact on the agricultural community.

"You think of the farmers, the people that are working on the farm, the equipment salesman, the fertilizer on through the processing plants, silicon containers," he said. "The truckers that are involved in moving material around. So it is a big loss and trickle down effect."

KCRA 3 reached out to California's Employment Development Department and filed a public records request to see if a WARN Act notice had been filed.

Under California law, employers must give workers 60 days' notice before a mass layoff, plant closure or relocation.

A new law that takes effect this year, SB 617, also requires employers, when ordering mass layoffs, to provide written notice if they plan to coordinate services through a local workforce development board and share information about CalFresh assistance.

One of the companies that bought a piece of Del Monte Foods’ business was Pacific Coast Producers, a Northern California-based agricultural cooperative of 160 growers.

The company said it bought Del Monte's inventory of shelf-stable canned fruit and fruit cups and the rights to use the Del Monte and S&W brands for packaged fruit in the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

President and CEO Matt Strong said in a statement that the sale "is beneficial for the peach, pear, and apricot growers in California."

"We will seek to honor the iconic Del Monte brand, and continue providing quality fruits to the American consumer," he said. "This expansion of our business will allow us to continue to provide a secure market for our growers, and to provide our employees with a stable and successful operation fully utilizing our production assets."

The other companies that bought assets from Del Monte Foods, according to a company press release, include:

This story is developing. Stay with us for updates.

Del Monte Foods will close its Modesto fruit cannery, a loss of about 600 year-round jobs and 1,200 more during the harvest.

A union leader said Friday that workers were informed of the closure during meetings Thursday at the Yosemite Boulevard plant.

Del Monte had filed for bankruptcy July 1, prompting an auction of its properties around the nation. No one offered to keep the Modesto cannery running. The shutdown also closes off a market for growers of peaches, apricots and pears.

The cannery workers are represented by Local 948 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The pay ranged from about $20 to $40 an hour, depending on experience, business coordinator Odus Hall said by phone.

“It’s just horrible for us,” he said of the closure. “... We were hopeful that they would be able to right the ship and find a buyer.”

The displaced workers can get help with retraining and job searches at Stanislaus County Workforce Development. The agency keeps in touch with other employers with openings, Director Doris Foster said by email.

On social media, some people identifying themselves as employees are sending out job feelers. “I’m seeking a new role and would appreciate your support,” Daniel Bucknell wrote on Facebook. “If you hear of any opportunities or just want to catch up, please send me a message. I’d love to reconnect. ... I’m looking for Manufacturing Engineer, Project Engineer, Project Manager, Maintenance Engineer, and Design Engineer roles. I’m not opposed to a career change opportunity either if an opportunity arises. I do a lot of auto repair on the side. ...”

The Del Monte closure leaves only one fruit canner in the region: Pacific Coast Producers in Lodi. It did not offer to take over the Modesto plant in the auction. It did spend $82.2 million for warehoused goods from past harvests, which it will sell under the Del Monte label.

Modesto was the heart of a canned fruit industry that employed several thousand people at its peak half a century ago. Consumers have shifted toward fresh products, despite claims that canned is just as nutritious, and available year-round.

County Supervisor Vito Chiesa, who’s a farmer, said the Del Monte closure is another loss in the dwindling cannery industry in Stanislaus County, which once featured names like Tillie Lewis, Cal-Can and Tri-Valley Growers. He said the bankruptcy of Tri Valley Growers is what caused his family to leave the peach-growing business.

“Canneries are declining along with canned goods in general.” Chiesa said. “You used go to the supermarket and see whole aisles filled with canned goods.”

Chiesa, who represents the Turlock and Hughson areas, said local peach growers will suffer if they have contracts to sell the fruit to Del Monte. “It’s also hard for the employees,” he said. “Some people spent their entire (working) lives there. Hopefully we can find places of employment for them. It may take some time.”

The need for hand-picking of fruit adds to the production cost, prompting some growers to shift to mechanized crops like almonds and walnuts. Stanislaus County had 2,676 acres of peach trees as of 2024, down from 13,332 in 1980, according to its agricultural commissioner’s office.

Del Monte canned peaches from early summer to early fall, along with smaller volumes of apricots and pears. The company honored the 2025 grower contracts despite the bankruptcy filing, according to the California Canning Peach Association. It could not be reached for comment on the closure Friday.

Del Monte was founded in 1886 in San Francisco. It mainly canned crops grown in the Bay Area early on, then shifted to the Central Valley. The company went on to become a national leader in fruit, tomatoes and other vegetables, both canned and fresh.

The company had a Hanford plant for tomatoes canned under the Del Monte and Contadina labels. It processed other fruits and vegetables in Washington state, Wisconsin and Mexico. The business also made College Inn and Kitchen Basics broths and Joyba bubble teas.

Stanislaus County Workplace Development helps affected workers with resumes, interviews and information about openings.

“In many cases.” Foster said, “other businesses have shared with us the need for skilled labor, and we can make a warm handoff to another similar industry employer.”

The region has plenty of other food and beverage processors, including dairy, poultry, wine and nuts.

Tomato canning remains a major industry in the Valley. The plants include Stanislaus Food Products in Modesto, Escalon Premier Brands just to the north, ConAgra Foods in Oakdale and two companies near Los Banos.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson contributed to this report.

The whiplash winter of 2026 has put the snowpack well below average in watersheds for Modesto and nearby areas.

Two caveats: The main storm season still has two months to go and reservoir storage is above average thanks to recent wet years.

The snowpack was 59% of average in the central Sierra Nevada as of Friday, the California Department of Water Resources said. It supplies farms and cities via the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced and San Joaquin rivers.

October and November storms got the snowpack off to a strong start, but a dry spell dropped it to 14% of the historical average for Dec. 22. Then came the holiday storms, raising the figure to 90% as of Jan. 9.

The rest of January was dry. Some of the snowpack even melted at a time when it should be building, said David Rizzardo, DWR’s hydrology section manager, in a video briefing Friday.

Andy Reising, manager of the snow survey and water supply forecasting, commented on the trend in a news release Friday.

“We are now two-thirds through what should be the best snow-producing months of the year,” he said. “While there is still time for February and March to deliver additional snow, the farther into the season we get with below-average conditions, the harder it will be to catch up.”

Water suppliers will wait several weeks before deciding how much to allot for irrigation in spring and summer.

The National Weather Service had said that no storms were expected until mid-February. That forecast has been updated to show a likelihood of mountain snow and valley rain on Monday, Feb. 9.

DWR has hundreds of automated snow sensors in the Sierra and other mountain ranges. It also does a monthly media event near Lake Tahoe using manual devices, including one Friday that included Reising.

The snowpack accounts for only about 30% of California’s total water, but it is vital in Stanislaus and other counties with long, hot summers.

Details on each watershed from DWR as of Jan. 30:

Tuolumne River: Its main storage site, Don Pedro Reservoir, was at 117% of its historical level for this time of year. It is shared by the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, which serve about 207,000 farmland acres. They also provide treated river water to ease pressure on wells in the cities of Modesto, Ceres and Turlock. TID’s farm service area extends into northern Merced County. The Tuolumne also provides part of the Bay Area’s supply via the Hetch Hetchy system.

Stanislaus River: The largest reservoir, New Melones, was at 128% of the historical average for Jan. 30. It supplies a total of about 115,000 farmland acres in the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts. The latter provides domestic water to Manteca, Lathrop and Tracy. The Stanislaus also feeds the federal Central Valley Project, which pumps water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Merced River: Storage was at 142% of the historical average in McClure Reservoir. The largest user is the Merced Irrigation District, with about 100,000 acres just south of TID’s territory.

The region also gets water from the CVP, a federal agency, and the State Water Project. Both pump massive amounts from the Delta but sometimes curtail the flows to protect fish. The systems share San Luis Reservoir, which was at 105% of its historical average Friday.

The CVP serves farms as far south as Kern County. It gives priority to irrigation districts with older water rights. These include four agencies with about a quarter-million acres stretching from Crows Landing to Mendota. Other recipients can have zero water in dry times to protect fish.

The CVP has not yet projected its 2026 deliveries. The State Water Project made an initial estimate of 30% of the contracted amount, after weighing fish needs. This agency serves city users in Southern California, along with Valley farmers.

Modesto, CA is a key economic center in California's Central Valley, supported by a diversified base that includes agribusiness and food processing, logistics and distribution, manufacturing, healthcare services, education, energy, and professional services. With organizations operating across regulated, production-driven, and supply-chain-dependent sectors, accuracy, documentation, and institutional credibility are essential. In this context, companies seeking the increasingly rely on IndNewsWire for editorial-first, brand-safe press release distribution.

Modesto-based organizations regularly engage with agricultural producers, food processors, logistics partners, healthcare networks, municipal agencies, and regional investors. Press releases remain one of the most effective tools for communicating verified updates in a structured, professional format trusted by enterprise and institutional audiences.

Why Press Releases Matter in the Modesto Business Ecosystem

Modesto's economy is driven by agricultural output, food and beverage manufacturing, logistics efficiency, healthcare expansion, and regional infrastructure investment. Whether an organization is announcing processing capacity upgrades, supply-chain expansions, healthcare initiatives, sustainability programs, workforce development efforts, or organizational milestones, communication must be factual and well documented.

Press releases provide a standardized way to deliver this information. Unlike promotional messaging or informal digital updates, press releases establish a permanent public record. Once published on recognized news platforms, they become part of an organization's digital and institutional footprint. For Modesto organizations, this record supports credibility during regulatory reviews, partner diligence, financing discussions, and procurement processes.

Modesto's Media Environment: Production-Focused and Credibility-Driven

Audiences in Modesto value clarity, transparency, and operational relevance. Business readers often include agribusiness executives, food processing managers, logistics operators, healthcare administrators, energy professionals, and economic development stakeholders. Overly promotional language or unsupported claims can undermine trust in a market where consistency, compliance, and delivery reliability matter.

The best press release agencies understand this environment. They emphasize editorial discipline, neutral tone, and accurate distribution. IndNewsWire aligns with Modesto's professional expectations by positioning press releases as informational assets rather than marketing copy.

IndNewsWire's Editorial-First Writing Approach

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Publishing a Press Release on Digital Journal enables organizations to reach readers who actively follow business developments, agribusiness trends, food manufacturing activity, and regional economic growth.

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Coverage is often referenced internally as a Digital Journal Press Release or a Street Insider Press Release across executive reporting, lender communications, and compliance documentation.

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This includes references such as a Press Release on DigitalJournal and a Press Release on StreetInsider, helping Modesto organizations accurately track placements across departments.

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Many Modesto-based organizations operate regionally, nationally, or internationally--particularly in agriculture, food processing, logistics, and energy services. Local visibility alone is often not sufficient.

IndNewsWire enables broader exposure through placements such as a Press Release on Big News Network and a Press Release on BigNewsNetwork, helping Modesto brands reach wider national and global business audiences.

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IndNewsWire supports this objective through distribution options such as a Press Release on Yahoo Finance. This ensures that when investors, analysts, lenders, or strategic partners research a Modesto-based organization, they encounter structured, verifiable information in a trusted financial news context.

Brand Safety and Compliance Awareness

Industries prominent in Modesto--particularly agriculture, food processing, healthcare, logistics, and energy--operate under strict regulatory, safety, and governance frameworks. In these sectors, accuracy and restraint are essential.

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Each press release distributed through IndNewsWire contributes to a long-term archive of verified organizational updates. Over time, this strengthens search visibility, media trust, and institutional credibility.

For Modesto organizations managing recurring announcements, capacity expansions, or long-term growth strategies, this cumulative media footprint becomes a valuable strategic asset.

Why IndNewsWire Is a Strong Choice in Modesto, CA

Selecting the best press release agency in Modesto, CA requires evaluating writing quality, distribution credibility, and long-term impact. IndNewsWire stands out by offering:

Final Thoughts

Modesto is a city defined by agricultural leadership, production efficiency, and regional importance within California's Central Valley. In such an environment, press releases must be accurate, credible, and professionally distributed to be effective. IndNewsWire delivers these essentials through structured writing and reliable media placement.

For organizations seeking the best press release agency in Modesto, CA, IndNewsWire provides a dependable pathway to visibility--helping businesses and institutions communicate important updates with clarity, confidence, and long-term credibility.

Media Details.

Company Name: IndNewsWire Contact Name: Sales Team Email: [email protected] Country: India Website: https://indnewswire.com

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