Cesar Mora, a third-generation farmer in Reedley, California, has opened his orchard to the public to harvest thousands of pounds of Monalise white nectarines for free. Mora is currently embroiled in a 2023 lawsuit with Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co. over contract disputes and intellectual property rights, preventing him from selling the fruit commercially.
The Legal Conflict Over Monalise Nectarines
The tension stems from a 2017 sublicensing agreement between Cesar Mora and Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co., one of the largest produce companies in the U.S. According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit centers on the Monalise variety of white nectarine, which is prized for its sweet flavor. Giumarra claims exclusive rights to the variety, asserting that the intellectual property is owned by the French firm Star Fruits Diffusion.
Mora alleges he was misled by the terms of the agreement. In court filings, he claims he was recruited with promises of exclusivity and high market returns, only to find himself operating at a financial loss. “I followed all their process and did my part, delivered great fruit to them. But I was never able to get a return or make any money, really, I was farming at a cost, at a loss, at just their benefit,” Mora told ABC30 News.
The financial structure of these agreements can be substantial. As noted by Lavender Hotel, the contract required Mora to pay an initial royalty of $2.50 per tree, alongside a 4% production royalty. Giumarra maintains that the dispute is a standard contractual disagreement. “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 stated through its attorneys.
The litigation, pending in the Fresno County Superior Court, highlights the complexities of modern agricultural contracts where farmers are often bound by rigid marketing and production mandates. In many such cases, the “exclusive” nature of the license effectively mandates that a grower can only sell to a specific packer or distributor, leaving the farmer with little leverage if the market price for the fruit fails to cover the upfront royalty and maintenance costs. The 2023 filing by Mora seeks to address these imbalances, arguing that the contract terms were unconscionable under California law.
Community Response to the Harvest
Facing the prospect of his harvest rotting for the second consecutive year, Mora began allowing the public to pick the fruit at no cost. The response in the Central Valley has been significant. Attorneys for the farmer estimate that 2,000 to 3,000 people have visited the Reedley orchard, with reports indicating that more than 100,000 pounds of nectarines have been distributed since Monday.
“I don’t think food should go to waste, especially if it’s nice and ripe and just because of a lawsuit,” Alejandra Madrid, who collected free nectarines at the orchard Tuesday, told ABC30 News.
For Mora, the decision to open his gates was driven by the frustration of seeing his labor go to waste. “Walking through here…every step I would take, I’d hear a piece of fruit drop on the ground. Just hear ‘thump, thump.’ It was just really, really frustrating,” Mora told KMPH.
Broader Implications for Agricultural Intellectual Property
The situation in Reedley reflects a growing trend in agriculture where plant breeding and patent law increasingly intersect with traditional farming. Bradley Rickard, a professor of food and agricultural economics at Cornell University, noted that fruit patents are becoming more common as breeders seek to collect royalties from both the sale of trees and the fruit they produce.
Historically, public institutions like Washington State University—which developed the Rainier cherry in the 1950s—released new varieties into the public domain. Today, however, the economic model has shifted toward tighter control of the supply chain. This transition has led to legal friction, such as the 2010 litigation involving apple growers and the University of Minnesota regarding the SweeTango apple, which resulted in a settlement that allowed broader access to the variety. These types of disputes are emblematic of the “club variety” model, where the intellectual property holder restricts the number of growers allowed to plant the variety, thereby controlling supply and pricing in the retail market.
The stakes for the industry are high. When a variety is protected by a plant patent or a plant variety protection certificate, the grower is effectively a licensee rather than an owner of the crop. This shift in ownership rights has sparked debate among agricultural economists regarding the long-term sustainability of small-to-medium-sized family farms. While proponents argue that these protections incentivize innovation and ensure high-quality, consistent produce for consumers, critics point to the loss of farmer autonomy and the potential for monopolistic control over food sources.
As the trial for the Mora case is scheduled for later this month, the future of his orchard remains uncertain. The court will need to weigh the contractual obligations signed by the parties against the economic realities faced by the farmer. For now, the “No Nectarines Wasted” effort serves as a visible protest against the constraints of his current legal situation, drawing public attention to a quiet but intense battle over who owns the right to harvest the bounty of the land.
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